Sunday, June 26, 2016

campering

things were going so well.
we actually looked like a fairly normal family.
me, with the yukon.
ronnie, with his truck.
the harley was tucked away in the garage.
the 4Runner and jeep were sold.
the only huge monster left in our driveway
was ronnie's shed-on-wheels that he has for work.
(and there's not much i can do about that.)
 
and then he went and bought a camper.
 
 
technically, I bought the camper,
but lets be honest.
i would never actually buy a camper without
it being ronnie's stupid idea. 
let's back up.
we had a lovely time over memorial day weekend.
ronnie wanted a camper.
i said next year.
ronnie found a camper online that he liked.
i said it was too expensive.
ronnie called the guy and he had just dropped his price by $5000.
i said i guess.
ronnie sent me to look at the camper and make sure it was in good shape perfect.
i said what the hell am i looking for?
ronnie listed off a bunch of stuff that i have no clue about.
i put him on speaker phone the whole time i was there and
shot a video for him to look at.
he approved.
i jewed down the price.
they accepted.
ronnie's life just got better.
i just added more work to mine.
 
ronnie:
 
me:
 
but we both agree:
 
we're taking off on our maiden voyage this weekend.
my list is a mile long.
its has a queen-size bed and a full-size bed,
both sizes of sheets and comforters have been stored away
in the basement for the last several years.
looks like i'll be doing laundry.
and buying groceries, figuring out meals,
packing (for me, 2 girls and 2 dogs), making sure we have all the random shit
that you might need over a three day period
and hopefully having a whole lot of fun once we get there.
what's ronnie doing?
packing for himself and the coolers.
 
i'm anxious to see how this goes.
hello, you know me. i'm a planner.
i like to know how things are going to be before i get there.
my biggest fear?
my girls don't sleep.
they turn into a hot mess and i'm stuck with whiney, crying kids.
i wish i was more go-with-the-flow about stuff like this,
but i like my schedule and i get a little nervous when we try to veer off.
especially for several days at a time.
i'm sure i'll get better at this campering thing the more i do it,
but for now, i'm making huge lists so i don't forget something mandatory.
wish me luck!
 
 
 

Thursday, June 23, 2016

mermaid vibes

 
 
brette and madeline had a sweet little birthday
party over the weekend - - mermaid style.
they actually decided this together, which i
thought was sweet of them.
i made ocean themed food,
blew up green & purple balloons,
hung "seaweed" streamers,
laid out some seashells and called it a day.
i really wanted them to be dressed as actual mermaids
but the cute dress i found only came in
brette and eden's size and nothing for madeline.
that was not an option.
but oh well,
i think the girls had a really good time and
its always nice to have a family day.

 


seashells = pasta salad
seaweed = spinach/artichoke dip
fish food = cheetos
tuna salad sliders
fish sticks
shrimp cocktail





 

 
 






 
 
 
 
now i'm off planning reid and eden's party...
love all our summer girls.
 


Wednesday, June 22, 2016

reid: eleven months

 
 
we are one month away from her big birthday.
but let me tell you...
the amount of change i see in reid in the last month is crazy.
c r a z y.
it's times like these that i'm so glad i get to stay
home with my girls because
honestly, just like that, they grow up.

 
 
growth:
still no news on her height and weight, but
i promise to do an update when we have her well-baby visit with the pediatrician.
i actually don't see a lot of change in her physical appearance.
i'm sure she's grown some, but
she so active that i doubt she's gained much weight.
she's wearing 12 month clothing and size three diaper.
actually, right now she's wearing a size 2 because i'm
an idiot and bought the wrong size.
i already busted them open before i realized and
so we're squeezing her into these until i need another box.
whoops.
her hair might be a tad longer and i do notice it
is finally starting to grow some around her neck.
but let's get to the big changes:
she's standing, she had her first word and she got her first tooth.
 i know.
i told you it was a big month!
she pulls up on everything - - she definitely
likes to be standing.
and she's always on the go.
she'll crawl from my room to the playroom,
but her favorite place is the bathroom. (of course)
she crawls right to the bathtub, stands up and tries to reach the toys.
it freaks me out that she might fall in, so
i keep the door shut the majority of the day.
we also taught brette to be on high-alert about the baby gate at the top of the stairs.
since brette was doing well going up and down on her own
we got kind of lax about keeping it shut,
but now that reid is all over the place we are nazis about
making sure it's shut.
my darn stairs will forever freak me out.
and yes, i still miss my ranch house.
and now for her first word!
ahhhhhhhh!
she will drop something and say "ah oh!"
its really freaking cute. and she does it all the time.
she'll also say "da" for ronnie, "oo oo" for louie and
yes, i've even gotten a few "ma's."
it's all very exciting.
and last, her teeth.
that's right.
not just one tooth but several!
her two middle bottom ones are coming in and i
can feel one on the top now too.
i think by her first birthday,
we should definitely have all three in.
i can't wait to see her toothy grin.
but, with all these teeth finally popping through,
we've had a few hard nights.
only a couple, but still.
that always sucks.
i dose her up with infant tylenol and hope for the best.
 
 
sleeps:
sleeping is same ol' same ol'.
except for those few rough night dealing with her teeth,
she's right on schedule.
down at 8:00pm,
up between 6:30 - 7:30.
first nap at 9:30 and second nap at 2:00.
i'm working on putting her down awake and letting
her put herself to sleep.
she can definitely do it, but
some days are harder on her than others.
she will start going to a sitter on friday's next month
and i want it to be a smooth transition.
i figure, that easier she is to put down,
the easier her day will be away from home.
here's the thing - - she is still very reliant on a pacifier.
i haven't been too concerned with it because
she had no teeth.
but now that her teeth are busting through i get a
little paranoid about letting her keep her pacifier.
after we're done nursing, the pacifier will be the first thing to go.
 
 
 eats:
reid eats like a champ and will
for real, out eat brette.
she is pickier than i remember brette being though.
she won't eat hamburger, avocado or certain fruits,
which i think it weird, but
when you do find something she loves
(black beans/eggs/peas/tuna salad/cheese)
she will eat a ton.
 she is still nursing, but the weaning process is going really well.
i cut her 5am feeding first when she started sleeping through the night.
then i cut her 5pm feeding.
the next to go was her 7am feeding.
instead, we just went downstairs and had breakfast.
so right now this is her schedule:
7:30 - breakfast
9:30 - nurse
12:00 - lunch
2:00 - nurse
4:00 - snack
6:00 - dinner
8:00 - nurse
next on my list is giving her milk out of sippy cup.
i think i might start with breakfast.
if i can get her to eat and drink her milk together
then i will stop nursing her at her naptime.
this will also allow me to put her down while she's
still awake so we can work on that too.
since i only have four weeks left,
i will cut one nursing session per week and
the last week i will start mixing whole milk in
with the breastmilk to convert her over by her birthday.
i'm interested to see how she likes milk
out of her sippy cup.
hopefully, it's easy-peasy.
 
 
plays:
we put new batteries in our stand-to-play toys because
that's her favorite thing to do.
the piano, the dog that walks and kitchen are
all her favorites.
anything that she can crawl over to and stand up and play.
she also loves the tool set.
she always has a screw driver in her hands.
when we're downstairs she's always into the dog bowls.
i have to pick up the water bowl 80 times a day
so she doesn't make a mess, but i let her
clang around their food bowls just because she loves it so much.
she also loves climbing up on our brick step.
i put a rug over the edge to save her from hitting her face
but she's always on a mission to get to the front door.
she also messes around with the little white table and chairs a lot.
basically, if there is something down on her level,
she's into it.
 
 
firsts:
she is standing
she has teeth
she said her first word
she can climb up a stair
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

Thursday, June 16, 2016

brette: 3 years


 looking back i can't believe i've been
doing these updates for so long.
once a month for the first year,
then every six months and now, yearly.
and how do i remember or accurately describe brette's growth
for a whole year?
going from two to three...
i wouldn't call it the "terrible twos" - -
instead i would call it the "trying twos."
she tries your patients, she tests her limits (and mine)
she fights back, she talks back.
she is just trying.
 
 
growth:
brette weighs 32 lbs.
but i don't know how tall she is.
we have her three year check up soon,
so i'll report back.
i'm interested to see what the doctor says.
she almost as tall as eden which is almost 4
but she's thicker in her legs.
i don't think she's built like me,
so i'll be interested to see if this changes in the next year.
i can't wait to find out her percentiles.
she wears 3T clothing and at
night she's in a size 5 diaper.
she's not crazy about her clothes... yet, so
i still relish in the fact that i get to pick out her clothes.
most days i give her two options and we go from there.
she still hasn't fully mastered not peeing when she sleeps.
besides that though, she's got the potty thing down.
the ONLY time she ever has accidents are on mondays
when she's way too busy playing to take a break.
we took her to the dentist last month
and they said she looks good.
i still haven't cut her hair.
i just don't want to.
what's cuter than long beautiful hair on a little girl?
you know me and my love for long hair.
she loves running and jumping.
she's finally into climbing too.
she climbs in and out of reid's crib,
she's up on the kitchen counters and on
the back of the couch.
i thought i'd never see the day.
 
 
sleeps:
she goes to be around 8:00,
but since we took down the rails to her crib
we sometimes find her asleep on the hallway.
she doesn't come in our room or cry.
she just grabs her pillow and makes herself
comfortable out in the hall.
its so weird.
she's normally in our room around 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning
and climbs into bed with me until 7:00 or
whenever she hears reid.
(that's her cue that she can talk)
she was going for awhile where she never napped, but
thankfully that has gotten much better.
i have to bribe her with gum or popsicles,
but it seem to be working.
she's been consistently sleeping for a couple weeks from
1:30 to 3:30 or even after.
and she's been waking up so much better.
i used to hate the afternoons because she was such
a nightmare when she woke up.
she would cry, had to held and
was just plain miserable.
she's like a new person now.
she doesn't wake up cheery, but
she can pull herself out of her fog and
be normal relatively fast now.
thank god.
  
 
eats:
she loves:
pea crisps
cheese sticks
peanuts
chips & dip
turkey sticks
sausage
hot tea
honey
cheez its
peanut butter and jelly
blueberry pancakes
veggie straws
broccoli
ice cream/popsicles
 
she hates:
dinner
really it doesn't matter what it is,
she rarely eats it.
rice, potatoes, pork, meatloaf,
spaghetti, corn, casserole, anything and everything.
the only way i can get her to eat is if
i sit around and spoon feed her.
it's annoying.
i'm not sure if she's just not hungry?
recently i've been giving her a pretty good snack
around 4:00-4:30 just so i know something is in her system.
she eats breakfast, lunch and two snacks just fine.
but dinner is always a battle.

   
talks:
oh my god, the talking.
there are some days i wonder how long she can last.
i mean really.
how long can she go?
it's constant.
it's clear.
and it's correct.
she's got great language skills.
she uses words in the correct context and
can say basically anything you can.
some of her blends are still wrong and
her "k" sound is a "t" but
i think she's clear as a bird.
she also repeats ANYTHING she hears,
so we have to be extra careful.
just today there was a wasp in the playroom and
i ran away saying "oh shit."
after i killed the thing, brette says,
 "mommy, why did you say oh shit? was it because of the wasp?"
juuuuust great.
    
plays:
she still loves her swing.
going for walks instead of stroller rides.
anything with princesses.
running through the sprinkler.
dancing and singing.
helping ronnie outside.
watching movies - - especially toy story, tangled or frozen.
wearing "high heelies" but they never match.
she prefers one shoe of each color.
she is constantly playing her in kitchen baking cake
or making tea.
she will also get out her tool box and fix my leg.
we play "nap" where she'll get me a pillow and blanket
and make me close my eyes. (i love this game)
she loves watching tv, which is useful when i need to get reid down,
but i limit how much she watches a day. (normally only 2 shows per day)
her favorites are umi zumi, bubble guppies or mickey mouse club house.
she'll ask to play the touch game, which is basically where i say something and
she runs to touch it and then come back.
it's a good game to burn energy while i get something done.
 
firsts:
 jumping for real
puts on her own shoes
takes herself potty
has full on conversations
knows some letters and numbers
walking up and down stairs without me
climbing
has an opinion  (about everything)
has songs memorized
 
 
i'm really excited for this next year.
she'll start preschool and i'm hoping
that she learns some set limits
so we're not battling as much.
but honestly, i wouldn't expect anything
less from a child of mine or ronnie.
 
 
 

Monday, June 13, 2016

Happy Birthday B Money!

my biggest little girl turned three years old on sunday.
seems like yesterday she was just meeting us for the first time.
and now three whole years has flown by.
36 months
1095 days
1,577,847 minutes.
she has gone from one day old to
one year old. and then
two years old. 
 
and now, somehow, we are here.
celebrating her big 3rd birthday.
miss brette annaleigh.
i couldn't love her more.
 
 
 
we actually started her day the night before.
after the girls were asleep ronnie and i decorated the house.
we hung balloons and pom poms downstairs and
strung streamers from her door.
of course the next morning, we opened presents first,
because you should never bury your lead.
there. are. gifts.
she actually liked her new princess books best,
which i was surprised.
i thought she'd go straight for her new sprinkler or
want to try on her new dress.
but no. it was the "princess movie" books she loved.
(i got her Tangled, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast)
 
 
 
after presents we took her out for breakfast.
biscuits and gravy, then
biscuits and jelly.
with lots of fruit and sausage.
all of her favorites.
we got home in time for reid's nap, so
i let brette pick a movie (frozen) to watch while she slept.
ronnie actually went outside and had cale come over so
they could finally finish up the house for the painters.
when reid woke up i was packed and ready to take brette
back to the splash pad - - her new favorite thing.
she even let me braid her hair.
a first!
i told her it was like elsa hair and she was down.
 



 
 
it was super hot so this was the perfect birthday activity.
when we got back home it was nap time for both girls.
i conned brette into actually sleeping by offering a cupcake when she woke up.
worked like a charm.
but then of course she had to have it as soon as she woke up and
kind of ruined her dinner.
but whatever,
it's her birthday.
 

 
(ronnie is a sweaty mess. its really  g. r. o. s. s.)
 
and then we headed out to meet my mom and dad for dinner.
it was such a nice day and i think
brette loved every second of it.
 
happy birthday, B!
we love you so much.
 
 
wanna take a look back?

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

Friday, June 10, 2016

splash into summer

i literally don't believe it,
but the best thing ever was built right
down the road from my house.

my old house.

that's right.
we move and then
the city built this amazing park at
the end of my old road.
it's got:
2 or 3 huge jungle gyms
playground equipment
covered picnic tables
musical chimes for the kids to play
AND A MOTHER-EFFING SPLASH PAD.
 
 
i literally used to walk down there with the dogs
and let them run in a big open field.
and now,
well, now it's like a kid's dream.
not that i regret moving, but it
would be nice to be a short
stroller ride away from this all summer.
but whatever, at least it's a short car ride away.
 
and brette freaking loved it.
she ran around like a crazy woman.
literally.
 
reid, not so much.
she cried when i tried to put her down,
but i have hope that she'll eventually start playing too.
she did enjoy sitting with me in the shade in her stroller.
it felt like a break to me, so i'll take it!
the best part is that it's easier than a pool.
i don't have to worry about drowning,
or peeing, or drowning.
plus, there is no clean up.
i packed a super small bag with one towel,
2 sandwiches, sunscreen, snacks and water.
 
 
that was it.
it was so easy.
and so fun.
i'm pretty sure we'll be back weekly to hang.
 




ps- brette begged to go back that night.
she calls it the "ice pack" instead of the "splash pad."
 i wanna go back to the ice pack!
hilarious.
 
pss- brette's new favorite snack is "trail mix."
i made it up.
basically it's 
peanuts, yogurt covered raisins and pea crisps.
 last time i even added cheez-its.
i feel like it's semi-healthy, so i'm down.
 

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

weekends that come and go

 
 this weekend was really nice.
after work on friday i headed downtown
to help work the bbq tent at our town's festival.
i served up drinks for awhile before i made it home in time
to help ronnie put my babies to bed.
a few girls from work followed me home and
we played circle of death until 1am.
throw back to 2004, for sure.
i was super tired - - a clear sign i can't hang anymore.
saturday, ronnie and i took the girls out to eat and
downtown so they could walk the festival.
they have a "kids street" full of games, face painting and
animals, but all i really wanted was an updated one of these:
 
caricatures are my fave.
but he messed up my mouth, right?
the eyes and nose are on point, but that mouth.
i think he nailed ronnie, reid and brette.
it's getting framed for sure.
 
in other news, 
we lost a tree in our backyard and i'm super bummed.
it was a bad combination of too much rain and
the tree being rooted in the creek.
it just toppled right over.
we actually have some dead trees we need to remove and
few that i just don't like the placement of, but this one?
i loved this one and i'm sad to see it go.
add it to ronnie's list of things to do. 

 
we've also been going on daily walks through the
neighborhood and most days,
it looks a lot like this:

 
 
however, sunday brette tuckered out early and
decided to hop in and ride the rest of the way back.
i was thinking, oh geez, it must be nap time.
but no, she fooled around and never slept.
it. kills. me.
 i put her bed by 7:30 though, so that helped.
she's started falling asleep in the hallway every night.
we drag in back in her bed when we turn the lights off,
but the combination of a hallway sleeping, early rising and no nap,
well, its enough to kill a mom.
promise.
 
and my last update for the weekend,
my toe.
ever since last sunday i've had pain in my big toe.
ended up getting infected and i had to go to
the doctor to get some antibiotics.
it got pretty bad, so i made sure
and sent ronnie toe pictures throughout the day
so he felt involved.
i know, it was sweet of me to think of him.
 
kassie tells me this is what i get for going to the lake
and swimming in poop water.
dang the luck.
antibiotics seem to be working and things are on the mend.
sorry, for the foot pic.  i hate feet.
but i had to share my pus bubble.
(insert vomit noises)
 
 
hope your weekend went as slow as mine.
it felt really long,
which was a nice change.