The Other Children's Turn and Pres. Day Weekend

One of the other preschool parents told me this story when I picked Kelsey up today. Kelsey had one hand in her pocket and her hip cocked. Then she said to her friend, "Ally you should really get a skirt like this because it is sooo cute." Obviously she was wearing a skirt today.

Yesterday morning while I was getting ready for the day I heard doors shut and silence fall upon the house. This should have been a red flag. One day I will notice these flags more quickly. I finish up and realize that I may have a problem. I search for Braden and find the girls bedroom door shut. I open it and it looks like someone has been viciously murdered, except that that person would have bled toothpaste. There were smatterings on the wall, on the bed, on the floor, on the bathroom cabinets and on the bathroom counter tops. In the middle of it all was little man with a blue mouth from eating the toothpaste and more smatterings on him. Luckily I did not have to make a poison control call because that has already been done back when Macy was about Braden's age. Did you know that on the tube of toothpaste it tells you call poison control if ingested? Well last time poison control said not to worry. The worst it can do is make you nauseous. So I didn't get worried and was just angry at the mess.

On a side note, I am beginning to think that poison control is a conspiracy or companies use it to nonchalantly to avoid lawsuits. I hate to admit this because I feel that we keep most harmful products out our kids way, but we have had to make several calls. Each time they tell us that they don't worry about that type of product. Let's see toothpaste, Bed Bath and Beyond's wallflowers, and Windex.

To save my house it is sometimes best to get out. That is what we did for the girls day off of school last Friday. Macy informed me that she had a four day weekend and wanted to know what we were going to fill the time. It was off to the Clark Planetarium where they could look at cool things they really didn't understand. When saw a movie in the dome and afterwards ate Panda Express for lunch.




We stopped by Mars. Braden did some exploring.
Whose child is breaking the rules and climbing on the dangerous rocks?




Then we landed on the moon. Braden was off exploring again.

Saturday Brian took Macy up Big Cottonwood to do some sledding. They both had a great time. Kelsey didn't want to go because it was too cold. Sound familiar?

Here is a random photo from February. Braden tried to put on his own shoes and was so proud of the job he did. He go them on backwards and his heels weren't in but at least he tried. By the way, he is so picky about what he wears. He has to pick out his own socks, choose his own shirt and has a preference on shoes. He has to pick out what pjs to wear at night. He gets mad if I try to make him wear something he doesn't want to wear that day.

The Funny Things Macy Said... Today

Just so you all know, our family is going to have to turn down our invitation to the royal wedding in April. I had the Today Show on this morning and there was a story about the wedding. The reporters said something about it being in April. Macy then says disappointedly "Ohhh, I can't go." Her birthday is in April and she isn't going to miss that for some wedding.

Macy also thinks that she is a handy girl. She was playing with her pretend cash register and is upset because the cash drawer no longer opens. Then she lights up and walks to the kitchen utensil drawer to grab out a butter knife. She exclaims "I know how to fix this. I saw Handy Mandy do this." She was unsuccessful but I got a good chuckle.

Bus Stop

My neighbor is kind enough to walk Macy up to the bus stop each day. This is probably so I don't embarrass myself and Macy (and also to be nice since there are two other kids inside the house that could cause some chaos during the 1 minute I am gone). Occasionally the slowness of my neighbor's children cause them to miss the bus so I am forced to walk Macy up to the bus stop myself. When this happens I know that I give the drivers a good laugh (the bus stop is on a pretty busy road so I see lots of cars). This morning you could see me in a gray jacket, navy blue and green plaid pajama bottoms, no socks (the pants shrunk enough that you can see this), and my black flats that were closest to the door (of course socks may have made this outfit pretty funny too). My hair is also looking quite stylish, like I just got out of bed. At least there are no pink curlers in it. It curls on its own. I do have to say I am also glad that my high heeled shoes were not the ones closest to the exit.

Moderation

This morning I awoke with the best of intentions. Valentine's is over with and so marks the end of the candy/sugar fest of the holiday season. So I was determined to dump out the conversation hearts that I over-bought yesterday. I was going to be real good about eating extra sugar. I went to do this task before the gym, but I couldn't put them in the trash because Braden would be upset when his sisters were eating treats. I decided just to be good and not eat them.

I went to the gym followed by a quick shower. After making quick arrangement with a neighbor for babysitting because my mom was getting stitches in her hand, I was off for some service at Welfare Square. I had a great time making applesauce and I met some really nice people. One guy was 75 but didn't look close to that age. He told me all about his natural diet and how it worked for him. He has so much energy and never had to worry about his weight. He only eats the meat he hunts and kills himself. He doesn't eat any sugar or processed food. He began to eat this way at age 30. His wife or kids never jumped on board but he was still able to stick with it and pass up chocolate (that is willpower).

After talking to him I thought I should be able to moderate my sweets and ignore what is around me or what others are eating. Then I came home and found myself starving because I didn't have time to eat lunch. So I grabbed a couple small handfuls of the conversation hearts I didn't throw away. You could call that moderation until I sat down to type this entry. I brought a piece of the chocolate pie to the computer with me.

Tomorrow I will begin a more moderate sugar consumption.  Good thing there are plenty of tomorrows because I don't know how good my will power is.

Happy Valentine's Day

Yesterday the family awoke to a special breakfast created by yours truly. It was made up of all the favorites. There was strawberry berry mix smoothies, heart shaped pancakes with whipped cream (fresh strawberries were a little over priced and Kelsey prefers plain whipped cream) and scrambled eggs. The plates were all set and each place had a little heart shaped note. Then it was off to school.

When I picked Kelsey and her friends up from school, each was carrying a large dinosaur valentine box, a valentine gift for their moms, and a can of pop valentine. I am sure we were a sight as I walked three kids and a toddler to the parking lot in front. Braden enjoyed his freedom from my hand so much that he took off running all over the dead grass. Then he laid down on the icky lawn to bask in the glow of the sun. Yes the sun and warmth has come to tease us a bit yesterday and today. It was around 55 degrees. The whole way home Kelsey and her little friend Kristina kept saying "this is the bestest day ever."

The Kelseyosaurus pet valentine box. That was the best face she would give me for the picture.

For lunch more fun was in store. Again mom pulled through with the favorites; a heart shaped Bologna sandwich (their grandpas introduced them to this nasty meat), cheetios, and a red squeeze-it. I know some type of fruit made it into the lunch but I can't remember what it was because it was so memorable.

Now that is not all, oh no that is not all. Dad gave the girls mini-potted roses and all three of the kids balloons. Earlier in the month the girls received a new valentine shirt (picked up on sale after Christmas for $2) and a Valentine book each. The books I picked up a couple of years ago after the holiday at half price. My intention was to give the books the following year so I tucked them in the holiday box. Well the next year I was too lazy to put of Valentine decorations and so they were forgotten. Last year the Valentine decor did not go up because we were in a basement and again I was too lazy to go to the storage unit to dig out the box. So the books re-surfaced this year. Macy's book is Love Ruby Valentine and Kelsey's is very appropriate to her Roses are Red Your Feet Really Stink. In case you don't know, one of Kelsey's favorite things to do is make people smell her stinky feet. I must have seen the future when I bought that book.

And here is why I need to have a formal dining room (and I do right now but we didn't use it last night).

I made a fancy dinner of filet mignon, real mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, and that tomato/basil/mozzarella/balsamic vinegar dish. This was the mess that was created in the wake of that preparation. Brian says I do a fantastic job of destroying the kitchen as I cook. Sometimes the aftermath leaves me wondering why I cook. It is so disheartening to walk into the kitchen after eating.

That ends our fun filled day.

Birthday Idea

Will someone get this boy a horse? Okay, not a real one. We don't have a dog because I don't want to be cleaning up doggie doo doo or giving baths to another animal. A real horse would have doo doo 3 times the size of a dogs so out of the question.
Braden likes to ride anything he can. He gallops all over saying "giddy up, giddy up". This night he used the broom. The night before it was a bag of bagels. Last night was the first night he actually rode a stuffed horse. If he isn't on his pretend horse he does the one-legged skip/gallop thing. Actually I don't even think he knows that he is supposed to be pretending he is on a horse. More than likely he is copying his sisters and thinks it is fun. We all laugh so he just keeps going. That doesn't mean he won't get a stick horse for his birthday. I think I will still buy him that. Hopefully it doesn't become a bat.

Highlights

I ran into my aunt last night at a cousin's baptism and was informed that I have not posted recently. So I getting to it. In the past month I have had several blog posts written in my mind. Instead of blogging I read and sold a house. Those two things took up all my spare time. So what has been going on?

• Lots of torture, fighting, tears and time out for all three. Macy lives to take care of Braden and tease Kelsey. Kelsey thrives on being the victim, pestering her sister and bugging her brother. Braden loves to torment Kelsey. His favorite tricks is to sneak up and grab one of Kelsey's toys and run off with it. Of course he is laughing the whole time. For my enjoyment, since I have to put up with all the chaos this brings, I have changed timeout rules. The girls now have to sit in time out with their noses in the corner for 5 minutes. It is quite hilarious when you hear the muffled question "Can I come out now?"
• Kelsey is addicted to the Wii. When we first got it we couldn't get her to play. Now I can't get her to stop. She is always so proud when she wins crowns for herself or other players she sometimes plays. She always wants to play with her friend Kristina so they can play the Wii together. When she wants to play Mario Kart it is off to her friend's house. When she wants to bike, it is our house.
• As I briefly mentioned before, my cousins were finally able to close on a house. This whole experience for them (and me) was a nightmare. She says they will never move again and I don't blame them. The whole ordeal started back in April and I never want to re-live it again. It would also take too long to document because it was trying. So I will not give details and one day my memory will fade and I will only remember the point at which I gave them the key.
• I read 3 books. Somehow I need to learn moderation in every aspect of my life; devouring chocolate, inhaling dessert, reading books, writing a blog post, spending money, etc. I wish I could say I need to curtail my scripture study but I actually need more of that.
• Braden wears me out. He has reached the terrible twos mixed with the most adorable, sweetest personality. He is always two messes ahead of me. The other day I came down from doing my hair and he had emptied a whole box of tissues and dumped out two water bottles on the floor. He had taken his laundry basket down the stairs and emptied all of its contents on the stairs. Then he found my wallet (by climbing on the table). Credit cards were all over and he was putting pennies and dimes in the return vent. He loves to climb on to stools, counters tables and dressers. He has found that if he pulls out a drawer it can act as a step. I now have a picture of each child with make-up all over their face. Kelsey was the only one who didn't put it on herself. Her sister Macy thought she use a little color when she was 4 or 5 months old.



Going for a gothic look.



It is hard to see but that is not a strand of hair on her
right-side of the forehead. That is eye liner.

• Went to the boat show and am now ill. Did you know that for $600 a month you can have a new boat? And because they want to give these toys away for next to nothing, you only have to make that monthly payment for 20 years.



Incognito at the boat show.






• Celebrated my birthday. I went out to lunch with my grandma and mom at Cafe Normandie. The pastries looked scrumptious, but I held out for one of my favorites later that night. Brian took me to one of my favorite restaurants, Tuscany. My entree was okay and the 7'4" cake was still to die for.