War and Peace... or Peace and War...

So last night I put baby down to sleep at 7:30pm, still awake but sleepy. She fussed a bit, but put herself to sleep, which is a happy milestone for me. She was still asleep around 11pm, so I pumped and went to bed. I woke up around 2:30am and went to the bathroom and she was still asleep, so I decided to rest my eyes until she fussed to eat. I heard her start to fuss and looked at the clock... 4:30am. My little baby slept through the night for the first time! That was the peaceful part of my day.

Now let me tell you about the battle scene I encountered this afternoon. I went in to the girls' room to get them ready for naps. Although Lady has been accident free in her princess panties, I still put a diaper on for her nap and for bedtime. Imagine my surprise when I found her skirt wet. I said "Lady, you're all wet." "Yes Mommy, I peed on the couch." She said it so matter-of-factly. I said "Lady... why did you pee on the couch?" She just smiled and then said "I ripped the books Mommy." And then Bell chimed in "Yes, Mommy, we ripped the books!"

Ripped Books? A peed-on couch? I had only left them for 10 minutes while I was upstairs on the computer! I went over the same conversation we had a few months ago when Lady ripped a couple of library books, from which I only recently lifted my ban on the library. She had been so good. Hadn't she been fully rehabilitated? My only comfort was that the books that were on the book shelves down low were paperback and fixable. I put them in their beds and went downstairs to survey the damage.

I can honestly tell you I was not fully prepared for what I saw. They had ripped the books alright... our nice hardbound books high up. They had taken their chairs and moved them to the shelves to reach the high shelves (and the more expensive books) and tore out several pages. Only the pages were then shredded into little pieces and... they had pee on them.

I am happy to report the couch is fine, as are the cheap paperback books. My Jane Austen collection, however, will never be the same. And neither will the book that my friend lent me... you know, a special edition, hardbound one that is part of a collection? I know... I could die. I hadn't even had the book for a week.

Now I have to go on Ebay to see if anyone is selling this destroyed book.

PS Isabel also threw up this morning on a white rug. She said "Mommy, I spit up." Now, don't you feel sorry for me?

The miracle of healing

Conversation I had with Bell earlier today in reference to her skinned knee.

Bell: Mommy, my owie... it's gone
Me: It healed
Bell: My owie... it's gone... where did it go?
Me: You body healed the owie. It's all better now.
Bell: Where is Bell's owie? Bell's owie is gone. It's not there.
Me: (How do I explain how the body heals itself and why is my child suddenly talking in third person?)

Here comes the sun...

Spring finally arrived in the Northeast and it literally went from the 50's to the low 80's in a couple of days. We celebrated with our friend Naomi by donning our bathingsuits and filling the inflatable baby tubs with water. Lady and Bell had so much fun playing with the ducks INSIDE without water, but unfortunately were a bit annoyed when we took them outside and they got wet.
Naomi graciously shared fudgecicles with us, as modeled here on Bell's bathingsuit.
Lady is sporting her favorite color... PINK, of course!
Naomi's mom turned on the elephant sprinkler that shoots water out the trunk and head. It took a solid hour for the girls to accept the elephant as friend and not foe. Here they suspiciously eye the dangerous creature that might get them...WET. It's going to be a long, hot summer if they don't want to get wet.

The party quickly came to an end when Naomi bravely suffered an attack from a hungry bee. When we returned home they told Daddy that Naomi got bit by a Ladybug. And you thought ladybugs were harmless!

My little angel

You never realize how independant a two year old is until you have a three month old. I sometimes feel overwhelmed by how completely dependant this precious baby is on me. She owns me... my time, my sleep, my body, everything about me revolves around her. I can't make one move without consulting her... including trips to the bathroom, which I still have to get okayed from my other two bosses. If it were for anyone else, I would feel oppressed and resentful, but not for my own children. Sure, there are those days when I want to run to Target to escape, but all in all, considering the level of sacrifice, it amazingly doesn't feel like that big of a sacrifice. And the rewards are huge, or small, depending on how you look at them. Like when the girls come up to me and tell me they love me, just because. To tell it seems so small and yet, to feel it is so huge. Tonight as I've been feeding Baby she's been smiling and laughing and so desperately trying to carry a conversation with me. It's precious. Everything else around me seems topsey-turvey, and yet, in these moments, I might as well be in heaven.

Harvard Musuem of Natural History with Good Friends

Today I was reminded of the power of great friends. It is sad that we live so far from family, but how blessed we are to live by such wonderful friends. I must first thank the wonderful women you see before you for enticing me to fight the battle to get out the door and have an adventure. So, first and foremost, thank you dear ladies.

Now on to the story. My friends Megan and Heidi are part of a pre-school co-op and twice a month they take these amazing fieldtrips, but open the invitation to all of their friends. This month one of those trips included a trip to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Fabulous. I was in. What I didn't know was this would include taking the subway to Harvard Square. Sounded a bit daunting as I imagined myself trying to get three kids and a stroller on the subway, but parking in Cambridge can also be daunting. Frankly, navigating Cambridge has been one of my greatest nightmares and has caused me need to repent for the naughty utterings that have slipped my lips. I decided to take the subway.
We parked the minivans, unloaded our ten tons of gear, found the handicap ramps and arrived at the station, all without incident. We bought tickets with the aid of a subway employee that worked in the information booth who was not only informative, but friendly to boot (a friendly native Bostonian, you say? Tis true!). The train arrived, we successfully boarded and took a big sigh of relief. One hurdle jumped.
After a lovely walk through Hahvahd Yahd, we arrived at the museum, met up with our friends, Jessica, Naomi and Annika, and let the kids run wild (we were looking at wild animals afterall, and when in Rome...). The girls went crazy with excitement. I don't think I've ever heard Lady say "wow" so many times before. She looked like a kid in the candy store, running from glass case to glass case, pointing and yelling "Wow, Mommy, look at this." Bell took a more graceful approach and held hands with her good friend Naomi as they strolled through and admired bird eggs, gorillas, hippos, elephants, lions, camels, sharks... the list goes on. It was a bit crazy; the museum was packed with oodles of school children, and we were busy trying to keep an eye on our little flock while still maintaining adult conversation.
Then the girls started to come undone... Bell was tired of walking and asked to go in Baby's stroller (Baby was asleep in my sling), but then I had a jealous Lady crying for "I turn." I switched Lady in the stroller and put Bell out, which resulted with her throwing herself on the floor and kicking her feet around a bit. I knew the bewitching hour had come and my girls were about to turn into pumpkins. These are the moments when you wish the train ride had been a one way adventure. I was exhausted leaving the museum, but still had to walk through Harvard, board the train and then walk to the parking garage, unload, blah, blah, blah.
Now it is the end of the day. The girls are bathed and asleep, my house is a mess and I am exhausted, but I feel like a good mom. Today is one of those days when I feel successful, like I did it right. I put the right things first. Today is one of those days that I am so grateful to be at home with my kids and grateful for good friends who are down in the trenches with me, fighting the good fight. Now... if I could only remember these things for tomorrow!

Our first subway adventure

Megan, Lachlan, Heidi & Matthew smiling after having successfully purchased our subway tickets. It's the small things that bring joy.
Triplets! Emma shares her stroller with the girls (and her snacks!). Thank goodness for this stroller; it helped keep my stress level down at the subway station.
Soren and Matthew fitting in as daily commuters
Baby's first subway ride. She was obviously riding in first class, because her trip came with a meal.
Now the train doesn't look so scary... from the inside, that is.

Scenes from the Museum of Natural History

Monkey see... monkey do.

Baby G and her first zebra encounter
Lady shows her fiercest moves to the Lion as she prepares to attack her prey (her dear friend Naomi)
Hakuna Matada means no worries... and it looks like Bell lives that motto
I wonder why people always stop me and say "My... you certainly have your hands full..." Whatever do they mean?

Baby G

People often ask me about Baby G's disposition and I have to say, she is so, so sweet. She really only cries when she's hungry or tired. She's just so content and peaceful. I snapped this picture on Sunday after church because she looked so cute, but I caught her right before she burst into tears. She has her "brave" face on. She loves to be cuddled and has the cutest smile. She goes to sleep around 8:30pm, wakes to feed around 2:30pm and then again around 5am, but doesn't wake for the day until 8am. I love watching the girls play with her. They bring her toys and blankets and love to stroke her head. It's so precious. She loves watching them play... and trust me, they give her quite the show!

Bare Essentials or Fun with Mommy's Make-up

I once read an interview with a model in a fashion magazine that asked her what two makeup items she would take with her if she could only have two. She said: lipstick and mascara. Apparently, Lady agrees. A few days after her red lipstick ordeal, she dove into the mascara. It looks like Ash Wednesday gone bad. Bell likes a more "natural" look and kept to a pink blush.

If you give a mouse a cookie...

The girls' Great Aunt Nancy (Papa's sister) sent them a fabulous book entitled "Mouse Cookies and More." Well, actually it's four books in one with recipes, songs and activities that are a part of the book. The first story is "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie," and the girls LOVE reading what the mouse does when you give him a cookie. So we made cookies from one of the recipes in the book and pretended to be mice. If you haven't read this book... you must check it out. In our house, if you give the girls a cookie...chances are... they'll need a bath!

"I'm All Wet!"

This morning after breakfast, Lady started jumping up and down and raising her arms above her head. She said "Mommy, I'm exercising... I'm all wet." I felt checked her pants, because "all wet" these days means an accident. Nope, dry. She said it again "I'm all wet. My neck is wet." Then it hit me. Daddy has been on an exercising kick the past few weeks and the girls have been watching with great interest. Lady was referring to how sweaty Daddy gets... and yes, that includes his neck. It's scary to realize our every move is being watched, and our every word is being heard. I hope they didn't hear the d word I used this morning when the hose of our water purifier came undone and sprayed the kitchen like a garden hose gone wild. The word was "Dan!" of course. What were you thinking?

Read the Potty Party Posts First

Hmmm... day two has not ended as I expected. Let me give you an equation... 66 degree sunny weather + two hours at zoo = two pooped on cinderellas and one soaked Belle and kitchen floor. I admit it, the cardinal rule in potty training is consistency and I gave it up to take advantage of the beautiful weather... can you blame me... after several months of what seems like an eternal winter, we had to break free. Unfortunately that meant complete potty training disasters when we returned home. And the girls of course didn't take naps. What started off to be a perfect day has ended a bit rough. Not to mention that I was supposed to go out tonight and my babysitter forgot and wasn't home when we went to pick her up. Actually, there must be something in the air; the missionaries stood us up for dinner last night, my friend stood me up to go to the park this morning and now the babysitter. I would love to just go to bed, but unfortunately the girls shredded styrofoam packing in my bed while I was doing the dinner dishes... so I have to clean my bed out first. Sigh. I suppose I could take a picture of the disaster, but I'm just too tired.

Princess Potty Party II

If you haven't done so already, please stop and read my previous blog, Princess Potty, before you continue reading this one. Now, that you are caught up on the adventure, let me continue. I believe I left off when the girls were napping. What a happy surprise to find Lady D-R-Y after her nap! I put her on the potty and nothing came out. She spent a good two minutes and was "all done." I fed her and Bell a snack and uh-oh... a small accident. Our last pair of dry underwear. A little while later Daddy came home. I was making a cake for the girls (see above) and needed whipping cream (Light cream doesn't work... go figure). So Daddy took the girls to the store (yes, Lady was in her underwear). She returned home D-R-Y!!! We ate a fabulous celebratory dinner of ginger, honey carrots, herbed biscuits in the shape of hearts and parmesan chicken. And of course, we had a pink princess cake (just a side note: I tried avoiding red dye and using beet juice in the cake... it was a lemon cake... it turned slightly orange... also, canned beets have salt in them... luckily, I figured both of those things out before it was too late). Cake was delicious and yes, I used red dye in the whip cream, not beet juice.
So here we are on Day 2. Both girls wanted to wear panties this morning, both girls peed in the potty, and... (drumroll please) Lady went numero 2 on the potty. So we celebrated by eating princess cake for our mid-morning snack. Do we know how to party, or what? You'll notice from the picture that they are no longer wearing "training panties," but rather, the real deal Sleeping Beauty underwear.
Baby is thinking how delicious that cake looks... that cake can be yours too, little one, when you go potty like a princess.

Princess Potty Party

Today is the day of our big Princess Potty Party. Per the book "Potty Training in One Day," you are supposed to begin the day by opening presents (underwear, potties, etc) and teach the kids how to pottytrain their babydolls. So far... so good.

The day started off well... I stuck the girls on the potties with big sippy cups of juice and let them watch Little Einsteins and Mickey's Playhouse. We had great success. They both peed in their potties, and let me know. I gave them each a Rainsinette (chocolate covered raisins) and let them put a princess sticker on their charts.

The party was still "fun" as the girls colored in their princess books. Above is Lady coloring Sebastian with her "no mess" markers. Brillant invention that only shows color on the special paper, but writes clear everywhere else. A must buy if you have budding wall artists in your home. However, this is where our first accidents started to occur. The girls had no problem peeing on the potty while they were sitting on it for an hour, but to stop a fun activity and go and get on the potty is a whole other thing. Lady had one accident and then "got it" when I explained she had to stop, get down from the table and sit on the potty. Bell, however, didn't quite get the concept. Seven pairs of wet underwear later (you think I am kidding) I said to her "honey, maybe you're not ready." What is interesting is I had the thought to pray this morning for some help in this process and the thought came to me that Bell wasn't ready. I was worried her feelings would be hurt, so I put panties on her anyway. Turns out... she was fine with putting a diaper back on. I explained to her that Lady would be wearing panties, and that when she was ready, she could put them back on too.

The girls are down for a nap right now, Bell is back in diapers, Lady has on a Cinderella Pull-Up (I'm not ready for sleep training yet) and Baby is...just sooo cute. I'll post an update later tonight after the big party.

Double Chin

My mom has been bugging me about putting up a recent picture of the baby, since she is worried that the baby hasn't gained any weight. So... here is living proof that the baby has a double chin.
Bell admiring her little sister... the girls are so cute with her!

Mommy Milk

Conversation I had this morning with the girls while I was nursing the baby...

Lady: Mommy, stop holding Baby G

Me: I have to hold her because I'm feeding her-- she's hungry and needs Mommy Milk

Lady: No, not Mommy Milk... she needs Daddy Milk

Me: (laughing uncontrollably) Daddy doesn't have any milk; she needs Mommy Milk

Lady: No... Daddy Milk

Me: (still laughing heartily) Daddies don't have milk, only mommies make milk for babies

Bell: Yeah... Daddy doesn't know how to make milk

Me: (still laughing trying to imagine Daddy making milk)

I hope this makes your day like it made mine!

Lady in Red

I have to be honest... if it weren't for my friend Heidi, I would not have captured this photo of our little Lady. Heidi posted a picture of her daughter playing body paint with Nutella. My first reaction when I saw this was "Ahhhhhhhhhhh." Then I said "don't move and don't touch anything... I'm getting the camera." It ended up being a positive experience. 2000 wipes and an empty tube of lipstick later, she was good as new. My momma has always insisted that "Every barn looks better with a new coat of paint." Hmmm... you be the judge!

Pictures of our baby...

Potty Party

Last month while Daddy was traveling I had the brillant idea to start potty training boot camp and spend the whole week with another friend just doing the potty training thing. We only lasted one day from sheer exhaustion. Lady and her friend Naomi were able to wee on command with chocolate as the incentive. Poor Bell just couldn't get it. I gave her a piece of condolence chocolate for her good efforts. She was, however, good about showing me where she had peed on the floor. I suppose she deserve points for self awareness.

I haven't really done much since then, but was happy when Lady asked to use the potty yesterday. The girls do this every so often, but it really means they want to take all their clothes off and pretend to use the potty. I figured this was just another play day but was feeling generous enough to offer her the opportunity to play, so I stripped her down and began to get her little potty out. "No, Mommy... I want the BIG potty," she said, pointing to the porcelain toilet. Fine. So I helped her up and planned to do some dishes until she told me she was done. However, she then proceeded to ask me to hold her hand. Again, I was feeling generous with my time and decided to play along, so I squatted beside the toilet and held her hand... only to hear the glorious sound of weeeeeeeee. I screamed, I clapped, I hugged. I didn't even have to give her chocolate... she just wanted to be a "big girl," and talked about it all day. She hasn't wanted to do a repeat performance... but I have hope for the future. Bell shows no interest... I think she plans to bring Pampers with her to college.

The things kids say...

Lady: Mommy, you have stinky gas... you need to go take a shower.

Later I overheard the following conversation...
Bell: I am very angry... look at this mess.
Doll: (silence)
Bell: You need to clean this up. I am very angry.