A re-telling of Cinderella

...in the words of Anna-Kate. She is really into telling stories. She loves for us to make up stories, and she will indulge us at times too. This is how she prolonged bedtime tonight:

"Once there was a beautiful princess named Snow White. Wait, not snow white, Cinderella. Man, I funny! Cinderella was going on a walk (be-bop, be-bop--her sound effects). Then Anastasia jumped out at her and grabbed her dress and pulled it and made her sad. She and, what's her mean sisters' name Mommy? (I say, "Drezella") Right, Drazella, I call her 'Drelly' all the time. I funny Mommy and I call her Drelly. So Anastasia and Drelly pull her dress. Then Cinderella gets on a donkey (clip-clop, clip-clop) and rides away. ("A donkey?" I say, "where did she go on a donkey?") She go, wait, not a donkey, on a horse. Hahahahaha, I so silly. She got to a faraway castle and when she got there she danced with her daddy. (I asked, "are you sure it isn't her husband?") No, it her daddy. And they dance and Anastasia and Drelly say, "do we know her" and her hair is all pretty and like this (and puts her hand holding her hair in a bun) and her dress is blue. Then it's too late so she has to run home away from her daddy and he yelled "wait" but she kept going. Then Anastasia and Drelly were mean again. Then she lived happily ever after."

***

I took Anna-Kate with me on Tuesday to drop off all of my things to consign. While she was waiting (very patiently, I will add) she saw 2 things she insisted she needed ("please, please Mommy, get this for me, please mommy?!?!"). The first, a pair of pink (obvio) Hello Kitty rain boots (I cringed at the tackiness). The second, a "real" Snow White costume (hoop skirt and all). I told her I wasn't allowed to buy anything, but that I would look when I went back and see if I could find them and if they were a good price. Lucky for her, I was able to secure both. Double lucky for her, it pourded cats and dogs today so she was allowed to wear her rain boots out of the house. Here we are today (forgive my appearance, shower was low on the priority list because of aforementioned torrential downpour). She wore this all.day.long (except to eat, a house rule). Needless to say, the $4 I spent on the dress (from the disney store!) and $5 I spent on the boots made my little girls' day today. :)



Note the pitifulness of Ryan. He is still cutting his lower molars and has been quite snuggly in the time in between getting medicine and it working. Poor guy. :(

Productivity.

It feels good. And you know what else? Early morning productivity feels even better.

For example, today I woke up at 7 (I know some may roll their eyes, but my kids don't get up until 8...7 is early people, it's all relative.). I ate breakfast (alone!) had my quiet time (uninterrupted!) and started sewing on some work projects I had been putting off...all before anyone else woke up (well, I say anyone, Chris is a rock star and gets up EARLY to run and shower and leaves often before we wake up).

But I digress, it was fantastic. By 9:30 I had done aforementioned things as well as finished 4 projects, gotten all parties dressed, fed, I had makeup on and I had packed our lunches for the day. (Pardon me while I pat myself on the back).

***

Speaking of productivity...yesterday we had our house appraised since we are in the process of refinancing (which, while it will save us money, all started in an effort to move all money and ties away from Bank of America. We hate that place). We don't have numbers back yet, but are just praying that we haven't lost too much equity in our home these past 2.5 years. So irritating...Anyway, yesterday I was cleaning and throwing out like a mad woman. I love the feeling of throwing things away. It is so cleansing. There is nothing better than a before and after picture of a room or closet that is purged, organized and clean (unfortunately, no such pictures were taken, but it is mentally still refreshing). Ahhh. Must keep it that way....

The latest project

Black and white gingham with PINK!! (as Anna-Kate says) trim and monogram



Reverses to same gingham with pumpkin applique that I did to match an outfit I bought for Ryan from Strasburg (got Ryan's for $6--not a bad total for matching outfits!).

Your tax money at work, amongst other things

So I decided to do all of my errands tonight so I could keep my kids secluded for 1 more day. I went to CVS to get all the free stuff. :) Here's what I got:
2 packs (150 count) paper
2 mini comp books
2 full size comp books (like what you had in chemistry class)
2 rulers
2 kids' scissors
2 binders
1 thing of push pins
1 colgate toothpaste

Total: $37.36
Total spent after ECB's, coupons: $1.06
Plus, I have $9 ECB's and rainchecks for later!

***

So, to our tax money.....after CVS I went to Publix. I was getting milk when this woman (with keys to a mercedes) walked up to me and asked if I would like for her to buy my milk. I asked her why she would want to do that. She said, "O WIC girl! I get 10 gallons a month and I only have 1 kid who will drink the stuff, so every time I come here I buy someone milk". So, she bought me 2 gallons. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it, but I figured in the long run I was kinda paying for it anyway, right?

Anyway, I was trying to do the Kraft rebate deal. However, Publix was out of the penny item today (hotdogs) so I had to go to customer service to see what they were gonna give me for a penny instead. While standing there, I put my receipt down and then left. I was SO peeved when I got home and realized it. I called back and thankfully, they picked up. The mgr said he would put it in an envelope for me to pick up tomorrow. So, will have to wait to get my rebate check one more day, and to post my savings. :)

Amazing what a little motrin will do

So we were homebound today (except for mine and Anna-Kate's jaunt to the pediatrician. We were informed that she has a viral stomach bug and a viral throat inflamation. Super. Poor thing has been just miserable). Anyway, it's been going around. I went to Publix to get a box of Pedialyte popsicles (as she will not drink pedialyte) the pharmacist (yes, they are behind the counter as they were getting stolen. Seriously? Where is this country????)said I was getting her last box. Geesh, it's July, remember? So we laid low today. My amazing husband kept Ryan home so I could concentrate on just holding Anna-Kate and keeping her comfortable at the doctor. Good thing, the throat culture/swab didn't go over so well...

After we came home and Chris left for work, we went upstairs to play. Here is her highness, Miss Priss, about 2 hours into a dose of Motrin. Yes, she is wearing three tu-tu's.




I don't think there's much I can say about her outfit choice except, wow. She would tell you that she's Aurora, Sleeping Beauty (though she's never seen the movie). My girl spends all waking time at home that she isn't eating in full princess get up (that would include, a crown, wand/sceptor, dress and heels!). What does it say that my 3 year old wears heels more often than I do? Hmmm.

Her favorite thing to do right now is jigsaw puzzles. She does them for a solid 45minutes to an hour. "I did it again Mommy" are constant words I hear throughout the day.



I was going to upload some pics of Ryan playing and a video, but blogger is being poopy. After last night, I too am tired, so I think I'll go to bed and post his pictures tomorrow.

***

She is overall a little bit better today. No crazy high fevers, though without medicine she was at 102.2 when she woke up from her nap today. She has very little appetitite (ate a handful of plain cheerios for breakfast, 1/2 a pedialyte popsicle for a snack, a piece of toast with no butter (as requested) and 1/2 a banana for lunch and a couple of bites of a PB sandwich for dinner) and is still acting very tired and not her usual self. Thankfully, she has "Anna-Kate moments" as the doctor said (a few minutes of her personality breaking through every so often) so the doctor isn't worried about her. I'm trying to push fluids, which she is drinking, but the runs aren't slowing down much. Praying for a more restful night. I was up with her most hours of last night. I have washed all 3 sets of her sheets, my bathtub, the floor and toilet in the kids' bathroom 3 times, and Chris has washed the kids' bathtub twice. Sadly, the rest of my house is not nearly as clean. My hands are nearly raw from so much scrubbing trying to say germ free and then purelling on top of that. Hopefully tomorrow will be a lot better. So far, none of us (including Ryan--thankfully!) are showing any signs of getting it. Thanks so much for your prayers, we really appreciate them.

Here we go again...

Anna-Kate woke up from her nap burning up. Underarm temp? 104.3 (for those unfamiliar with the underarm temp, add 1 degree!). I quickly gave her motrin and stuck her in front of a movie so I could call the ped. Of course it was 5:01 (literally.). I got her in a tepid bath. She got out twice for the runs...the last time she missed it. At least my bathtub is freshly bleached and shiny now.

We're going in tomorrow morning. I have strict instructions to wake her every 3-4 hours tonight and make her drink and monitor her temps. Should make for a restful night and great day tomorrow.

Pray for strength for me. Pray that Ryan doesn't get it (they were sharing a water earlier). Pray that Chris and I don't get it. Thankfully, it's the weekend soon, so Chris will be home to help. And, because my husband is amazing to me and a wonderful father, he offered to go in late tomorrow so I can just take Anna-Kate to the ped tomorrow and not have to take Ryan too (I always feel like the well one is contracting all sorts of things).

*** (on a separate note)

It's been a really hard day. I can't go into it all. We are really praying fervently about something right now and would love for you to join us, even with no information to go on. Will update when I can.

A little late...

Most Fridays this summer we've gone to the pool, ordered pizza and hung out with a couple of families. To mix it up, I decided to host everyone here in our backyard (I use the term "host" loosely. By that I mean, everyone chipped in for pizza, brought their own beer and I only provided plates, napkins, brownies and crystal light--how much of a slacker am I?). Anyway, the kids had a blast, and I think the parents did too. :) We had 2 baby pools, a slip 'n slide, the playground and all sorts of balls and ride-on cars, what more could a kid ask for? :)

This is Ryan "swimming like a mermaid" as Anna-Kate calls it:



My kids at the slip 'n slide. Check out Ryan's belly, not "failing to thrive" anymore, huh? :)(Funny side note, you can tell when Ryan is full because his belly button, which is normally an "inny", pops, much like a pregnant woman.)



After dinner icecream cone, cause that's just how we roll evidently, as it seems to occur a lot in the summer... (another fun side note, we were walking into a store the other day and Anna-Kate said, "there's trash on the floor mommy. we don't throw trash on the floor, that not how we roll". I about died laughing.)



Me and my sweet boy. Notice the blue-ness of his lips, poor guy was shivering, but did not want to get out of the water/slip 'n slide.



Anna-Kate was running toward me just fully into the moment and I was trying to capture it.



Then she noticed the camera, so I told her to smile for me. Little ham.



Seriously? What are we gonna do in 10 or so years with this girl??



Minus Katie, my mommy friends there for the evening (Ashley, Heather, me, Sara). Evidently Sara missed the memo to wear a shade of blue/green. :) PS, how am I a FOOT shorter than everyone??? Geesh.



The "big" kids, Annie, Anna-Kate and Andrew shouting "doody", Anna-Kate's made-up word that all of her friends have picked up courtesy of her. (To all my friends, your welcome for that little gem. :) ).

Fun week, and it's only Tuesday!

My college roommate, Liana, and her kids (her daughter is 9 days older than AK and her son is 2 days older than Ryan--so it's always perfect!)came up for a couple of days. We were packed! Yesterday we went to the pool all morning and stayed for lunch. The girls were super cute and so happy to be playing together. :)



We went home, put the boys down for naps and let the girls run around and play in the backyard--they had a ball taking turns pretending to be mommy and baby. So cute! My little booger Anna-Kate didn't take a nap after all that! I went in to see why she was still awake and she pops out of bed, "it morning time I go play with my friend Aubrey now?" (yes, all like that--no punctuation, just words all hurried together...). Sigh. Afterwards, we went to a neighborhood friends' house with the huge slip and slide, trampoline and playground to tire them out some more. Chris brought home pizza so I wouldn't have to be troubled with cooking, and we let the kids run around in the back (again in the pool, this time at the bottom of the slide) until Chris got home and we ate outside. Obviously, they were carried straight to the bath tub.

Eating icecream cones after dinner (we're healthy like that).



Later, Liana and I went out to Target and had a blast trying on clothes and just getting away. We don't get to hang out enough!

This morning we schlepped to the zoo and continued to enjoy the unseasonably cool weather (though the humidity is starting to eek back in...). The kids had a great time (though, to be fair, generally someone had a meltdown throughout the day). We met up with a couple of kids/Mama's from Ryan's playgroup to walk around and have lunch.



My boy LOVES the animals! He was so excited to see the zebras.



Here was Anna-Kate's turn throwing the tantrum as I tried to get a picture of all the kids in the bird's nest.



Ryan and then Adam and Anna-Kate with the gorillas




Sweet girls taking a break after looking at all the snakes and alligators in the reptile house. They are both (quite loudly) saying CHEESE!



The highlight of the trip? The carousel. Anna-Kate opted to ride alone on the peacock bench.



While Ryan chose a bear.



Despite the pitifulness of this picture, I'll include it, as it's the only one with both Liana and I in it. I asked a zoo worker to take a picture of all of us. Here's what we got. I mean, really? Who knew I had asked such a difficult thing?

Take me out to the ballgame

Chris got tickets (read FREE night!) from work for 4 to the Braves/Mets game yesterday (side note, got a free parking pass--score, that's $12 these days!).

My boys:


Me and my girl:


My kids had a blast, though, to be fair, they ate the.whole.time. But, it's a baseball game, isn't that what it's really all about (all baseball fans are cringing right?)? Anna-Kate with 2 cherry tomatoes in her cheeks.


The highlight of the night for Anna-Kate would certainly be getting a bag (and eating about 80%) of cotton candy ("it's PINK mommy!").


Both kids totally got into doing the tomohawk chop. Anna-Kate repeatedly asked, "why they not do this thing?" (while doing her arm). My loves (Ryan doing the horizontal chop and AK distracted at the beginning by watching the kids above us with "real" tomohawks--"they keep hiding them" (ie, going back and forth, out of her sight):


We had wonderful seats (in the shade!) and it was low 70's--perfect. Such a fun family night (despite the extremely poor showing by the Braves). I love my family!

***

So, clearly, my kids' life is pretty well documented. Maybe too well documented. Today Chris and Anna-Kate were shelling and eating peanuts. She was having a hard time cracking them, then finally figured it out. She said, "mommy, you so proud of me?" I told her that indeed I was. She replied, "well, you want to take a picture of me now then?". LOL.

Rewarded.

So, do you remember this? Well, the day has finally come where her sticker sheet was finally filled up (all 63 places). (and yes, we've been doing this since the end of April). The rules of the game? Remember without prompting to say yes/no ma'am/sir at the appropriate time. She now knows that since she has gotten her prize, this is an expectation. We'll see how this sticks.

She was beyond excited to get her Ariel mermaid pool toy (actually, bath toy, but it's for the pool for her). We have made a habit of going to "visit" said doll every time we go to Target (so, quite often...) and I've heard her say, "I come back and get you when I get my manners". Anyway, here she is at Target today finding her doll (which, incidentally, was on sale this week--SCORE!). She told people in the aisles, the cashier and her friend and friends' mom at the pool that she got a special prize for "getting manners". :)



Say "cheese!"


We were actually late meeting a friend at the pool because we went to Target this morning. Worked out well, her friend, Ansley, had the Cinderella version, so they played princesses all morning. A little boy asked Anna-Kate to play with her Ariel and she said, "no thank you, this is my new special treat".

She said what?

My girl is pretty good with the spoken language (I mean, she hears me jabberin' all day and she's a talker like her mama). However, there are some sweet and funny things she says that I want to remember...

awen-jess [a like "hal" in hallelujah] (orange)
bumatos (tomatoes)
"the mopes" (the remote controls)
lellow (yellow)

St Simons

or, my six year "reunion" from college. :)

Here is a group shot in from of Barbara Jeans--amazing (yet totally overpriced) seafood. YUM. Four of us lived together in college (though one was missing) and the rest all became good friends junior and senior year mostly. In our "hey day" we were known as the fab-10 (amazingly brilliant, I know). We are so scattered now--from Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Minnesotta, Colorado (and one missing in Germany!)

(Heather, Becca, Megan, Liana, me, Andrea, Sara).

We had a fabulous time! I slept until 10. (Did you hear me? 10???). It was amazing. We had english muffins and eggs and fruit and coffee, packed a cooler and hit the beach. The weather was perfect (like, nice and windy and I didn't even sweat!) and we read magazines and talked...at nights we went out to dinner, got icecream, rented movies and one night, went to Ziggy's. (a bar/dance place with "shaggin" music--think Mertyle Beach music--where we were among the youngest. :)

Two of my roommates. Megan (34 weeks pregnant) and Liana (her kids are the exact same age and gender as my kids--lots of fun!).


We had a wonderfully restful time (despite sharing a queen sized water bed. Ya, I didn't know they still existed either). These are sweet friends.

***

My kids were wonderfully taken care of by my parents while I was gone. Mom had so many activities planned that when I told Anna-Kate I missed her and asked her if she missed me she said, "I had too much fun to miss you Mommy, but I do love you." I mean, can you blame her? Mom took them to see fish, chick-fil-a, the children's museum, Moe's, had the pool in the backyard, Sticky Finger's (yummy bar-b-que) for dinner...O well, it's a lesson for me in letting go and relaxing. Being a little off schedule and getting a bit spoiled is what grandparents are for. They made sweet memories and I'm thankful my parents were willing to keep them (Thanks so much Mom and Dad!).

Now, back to reality.

Was waiting for this...yet still surprised.

AK: "Mommy, I have a big tummy because there a baby in there" (she's totally holding her belly out, sticking it out/leaning back).
Me: "Oh, it is a boy baby or a girl baby?"
AK: "Mommy, a girl baby! She's pink!"

Of course she is.

***

In other news, I'm heading out today to take my kids to my parents' house. I'll be continuing on with my college friends for a weekend at the beach (St Simons). Watch out Barbara Jeans, here I come! This is the first year since 2004 I've not been pregnant or nursing(aka, had a baby with me!). I'm pumped!

See y'all later!

A moment of brilliance...

...if I do say so myself!

A little background...last fall I went to a Chez Ami party (children's trunk show, aka, highly over-priced, but extremely cute kids clothes). I had skipped the 3 before I had been invited to, so decided I had to go and make a purchase for my friend. I found a precious little pink and white striped dress (comfy cotton playdress). With shipping, $40. It.killed.me (I am so cheap you know!). I bought a 3T to get two years wear out of it and looked on ebay to see that this brand sells for about 40% of what you spend on it. "An investment" I told Chris. :) Ha! (PS, husband was not amused). Anyway, in late December one of the buttons fell off so I took the button and dress up to my work room to sew it back on. Company came in town that weekend and it got put away...on top of a lamp...lamp got turned on...HUGE holes in dress from burning. Check out the extent of the damage (not shown are the huge brown spots...horrible, I was SO mad at myself!).




It's bad, right? Well, I was about to throw the dress away (because the holes were too high up to just cut it off into a shirt). Then, my afore mentioned moment of brilliance. I hand appliqued "flowers", then added ribbon and buttons.



I can not get this picture to be horizontal (and that's how it was taken! ugh!)



It's not my favorite dress in the world, but it beats throwing it away. What do you think?

Proud moments...

I've had a couple recently.

A couple of days ago we sat down to eat breakfast and reached for each others' hands to pray. Before Chris could begin praying we hear Ryan say, "Ga i guu" (God is good). Seriously? Brought tears to my eyes. He must have learned it from Anna-Kate saying the prayer she learned at school. Both of my kids do really well waiting to eat until we pray, holding hands and keeping their eyes shut while praying (well, not Ryan the whole time. Not that I'm looking...). Ryan always concludes with "amn" (it's all one syllable).

***

Today we were playing outside. Ryan is totally into being independant on the ladder/slide. Like, I went over to stand behind him to make sure he didn't fall and he shook his head no and pointed for me to go sit down. Hmm. Anna-Kate said, "I'll watch him mommy". She was precious. She stood right behind him, not touching him, but with her hands up and about 4 inches away from his back (just like she's seen me doing). When he got to the top she ran to the bottom of the slide to "catch" him. She did this 3 or 4 times, not even going herself. I called her over to me to thank her for being such a helper and doing such a good job. I gave her a big kiss and told her she was my best helper. I can't even tell you the look of happiness and pride on her face (Note to self, make a point of praising the good much more than criticizing the bad!). The next time she "helped" Ryan she looked at me to get an approving word or smile. I waved and said "good job", then she said, "call me over mommy!" I told her to come on and asked what she needed. She said, "you need to tell me good job and I a helper". Lol.

She then proceeded to teach Ryan the finer points of swinging on your belly. He loved it.

And, it's good for me. No more pushing...

Fourth of July

We had a wonderful day! We tried to go to the botanical gardens, but didn't realize until we got there that the streets were all blocked for the Peachtree roadrace. So frustrating! It ended up well as we went to my grandparents house for the morning. My grandparents love seeing the kids (and us, but you know.. :)) and we got chick-fil-a (including a peach milkshake) so a good morning. This marks the first time Anna-Kate has ever voluntarily climbed into Papa's lap to hang out. He was loving it.



Of course, Ryan wanted in on the action:



Then they moved to the kitchen to look at pictures...



After naps, we headed over to our friends' bash in their backyard. They grilled, had great drinks and (have the best yard in the neighborhood...) set up a slip-n-slide! Not a "real" one, a HUGE one. I thought for sure Anna-Kate would be too scared to try it, but she surprised me and loved it.



And went, like 50 times...(here, with her friend Hannah):



The cheering section, Ryan with his friend Jack:



Me and my boy:



Before I knew what had happened, Ryan was in the water. I had brought his swimsuit, but opted to keep it dry for him to have something to change into. So, I present my redneck son in all his diapered glory, having the time.of.his.life.






We put the kids down at 8 and went next door. The boys played baseball and the girls just chatted. I went up the hill behind us to yet another party that night. We had a great view of downtown and could see Six Flags fireworks as well.

We had a fantastic day...Happy birthday America!

Long weekend...

...oh, how I love you!

Since Chris was off today he had some guys over to grill last night while some neighborhood friends and I went to grab dinner and play trivia. We had a great time!

Today we slept in, had breakfast then headed to the zoo. The weather was wonderful and the kids were so excited to have Chris with us! We took the wagon (which was the greatest hit. Ever.) and our lunch and made a day of it. While walking in Anna-Kate said, "I need to show my daddy where stuff is, he not know." I have officially conquered my debilitating fear of snakes. I still don't like them, don't get me wrong. But, I am no longer frozen with fear at the sight (honestly? mere mention) of them. Ryan LOVES them. Figures. We were in the reptile house and Chris took Anna-Kate (because she's heavier and it's situated such that she can't see a thing without being held) and I took Ryan, who asked to look at every blasted snake, turtle, lizard and alligator in there. He finally knows what snakes "say", sssssssssss, he says.

The kids on the lions. They love to climb and play on these (and I remember climbing and playing on them as a kid!).




The kids with their wonderful Daddy and Willie B.



Riding the carousel.



A side note. Speaking of things he says...poor kid's gotten short-changed on "atta boys" in his life. So, here's the newest of what he says, "me-mam"(yes ma'am-but hey, he's consistent!), "peese", "tate" (Anna-Kate), "dog" and "per" (both referring to Copper), "bear" (he was extremely excited to see panda bears today!), ball, "roo" (car, as in vroom...), "hi", "bye-bye", "up", "auk-u" (thank you),as well as nodding emphatically yes or no at the appropriate times. I'm sure I'm forgetting some, that's just what's coming to mind...(One of my favorite things he does is every morning I get him out of bed and change his diaper, pick him back up and walk back to his crib where he throws his paci and lambie back in then waves and says bye-bye.) So cute. He signs "please", "more", "all done", "up", "eat", "snack"
He knows the animal sound for snake, dog, cat, monkey (his favorite), lion, sheep, elephant, fish, bird, cow. We're working on rooster (it's currently "dooo") and pig, owl, and horse. Another development, after I got him up from his nap on Wednesday (and he had played for a little bit) he grabbed himself so I asked him if he needed a clean diaper and he nodded yes. hmm. At least he's starting to understand the concept. Maybe? He's since done it 2 other times. (though, to be fair, I asked him if he needed a new diaper because he went "stinky" he said no).

Back to today. During naps I ran errands. Alone. In the middle of the day. Ahhh. I picked up Little Caesar's for us and some friends and we went to the pool for dinner and play. Ryan had a ball! He was jumping in, floating on his back, kicking his feet when I put him on his belly...I really feel like he'll swim before Anna-Kate does. hmm. She talks about wanting to learn to swim, but as she won't jump to me even if I'm holding her hands, this doesn't seem imminent.

I topped the day off with a long bath and pedicure, all I need now is a bowl of icecream! (though, I do have to work tonight...)

Tomorrow we are going to the Botanical Gardens (it's free for Bank of America card holders on the first weekend of the month. If you have BOA, check and see what museums in your area are free). Although, we have effectively moved all of our money from BOA (we are seriously praising the Lord for finally being allowed to get USAA!!). Whatever, we're still going. We still have the cards and that's the only stipulation. After that we have two 4th of July parties to attend. Needless to say, we'll be eating some yummy hotdogs, burgers and all that goes with it tomorrow. Happy Birthday America!

Now, on to my icecream...