And I Will Always Love You....

Here is our synopsis of our Valentine's Day celebrations...

We decided to trade gifts on Sunday instead of Tuesday morning. One being Karl wouldn't be rushing to get to work and two the girls were getting chocolate and didn't want them to be eating candy before school.

Here is Reese's gifts: The tiger sings a cute little song about chocolate and peanut butter and then says Reese's over and over again. 

 This is Brady's gift:

 So I opened the chocolate for the girls. They opened them and were quite thrilled. I was talking to Karl about the gifts we exchanged with each other and like 60 seconds later I look back at Brady and her box of chocolates were EMPTY!!! Boy, was I glad I didn't let that happen in the morning before school!

 On Tuesday, two school mom's threw a cookie decorating party....so much fun!!!!!

 And one of our good friends have an 11 month old. BOTH of the girls were all about her. It was so sweet and heartwarming how much they loved playing with her. Reese was actually the one that initiated the play. I think they are super pumped about number three!

 Also, on Tuesday Karl and I got the chance to have a lunch date at the O club while the girls were at school! I was nice to seat down with Karl and carry on a conversation without interruptions. I wasn't able to grab a picture of us together but I did get a picture of the parking spot Karl gets to use at the O club. I felt pretty special ;)

Lastly, I close with this sweet pictures of our little Elli Dew. The girls wanted to pose just like Daddy did....

Happy Valentine's Day!

Amoeba Ball

When I was growing up, my family always referred to soccer for itty bitties as 'amoeba ball' because all the kids swarm around the ball like a little amoeba, even the goalie forgetting where to stand for their position.

The day I found out we were having a third girl, my thoughts went to Reese and how to overcome the 'middle child' syndrome. I had decided one way is to encourage her to partake in extracurricular activities different than her sisters so she can shine on her own in that way. So about an hour after we found out about Elliot, Reese randomly starts talking about how much she likes playing football with daddy. Karl and I discussed already how she might enjoy soccer, so that day we decided to sign Reese up for soccer.

Today was her first practice. She is on a co-ed team at the YMCA with three and four year olds. I was a little worried about the co-ed part because she often proclaims that she doesn't like boys. Today couldn't have gone any better! She handled the ball well and she handled being the only girl VERY well. The best part was that she was smiling the whole time, and even squealed out of excitement at one time.

A little hesitant at the beginning, not into high fives quite yet!

 First drill, small kicks weaving through the cones and she was a pro.

 Brady asked "why does this have to be played outside?" We had chilly weather today.

 I introduce team 'Starfox'

 This is my favorite picture of the night! She just passed the ball to her daddy; the pride in her face makes me tear up.

 GOAL!

 In action...

 Team huddle! Aren't they so so so cute!

Tonight was a special night and I am proud to officially be a soccer mom!

Valentine's Craft

First off I have to say (like almost everything we do) I got this craft idea from another source. I have to give Family Fun magazine all the credit.

So here is our CHEAP, ADORABLE Valentine's craft.

I had all the materials on hand except the doily and that the girls' preschool had so I simply asked for two extras.

Materials:

• Shirts
• Acrylic or Fabric Paint
• Doily
• Sponge brush
• tape/glue stick

Step one: Attach doily using tape or light amount of glue stick. Glue stick has some advantage because you can glue the lacy parts down, thus it won't come up when you dap the brush. Make sure there is cardboard or newspaper inside the shirt so paint doesn't bleed. 

 Step Two: Sponge the paint onto holes of doily.

 Step Three: Remove doily, the website says wet, but I did it dry. I think either works.

 Step Four: Enjoy your daughters' adorable smiles as they happily display their new shirts.

I choose to do this craft when the kids were asleep. So they were very excited in the morning to see their new shirt. I love the outfit they both choose to coordinate with the shirts. 

A Mother's Heart....

I used to think mothers were crazy when they would talk about how they wished the could fix the 'problem' for their kids.Problems that aren't fixable by a mommy that is. In my mind, I would think these are life lessons that your child has to figure out how to handle on their own.

Yesterday, when I went to the school to pick up the girls, I looked for the girls on the playground. I ususally try to arrive a little early so I can observe my daughters playing with their peers. I quickly spotted Reese with some of her 'regulars' and then started scanning for Brady. Brady and Reese usually play with the same 'regulars' on the playground. I found Brady on the opposite side of the playground, as far away as possible, kinda strolling along the fence line by herself. She was looking down at her feet, I assumed she was exploring the stones and vegetation in the back, nothing strange about that. But, I did find it odd she was all by herself, she is our social butterfly.

One of the teachers blew the whistle to signify end of playground time, time to go home. As usual Brady rushed right over to me and Reese basically ignored the whistle. I bend down to give my Brady girl a big hug, wrap one arm around her shoulders and one around her bottom...wetness. I immediately asked if she went down a wet slide. Brady has never had a accident at school so that didn't even cross my mind. Brady didn't answer me, I look at her eyes and that told me the answer. She had an accident. I asked when it happened and why she didn't tell her teachers. All I got was an embarrassed grunt.

I say quietly lets go get changed. I stop at the classroom to use our spare outfit they keep there, she says she wants to change in the car (not an option, I no longer carry spare clothes). She told me to hurry and get to the car. Then it all hit me and my heart broke for her. She didn't want ANYONE to know about her accident. She was 'hiding' in the corner of the playground so no other kids would find out about her accident, she didn't tell her teachers because she would have to change clothes and then the other kids would know. This all broke my heart, as a mother I wanted to hold her it make it all go away. I wanted to take her shame away for her and give her confidence. She didn't even want me to tell her dad about it, I wanted to tell her she is still little and there is nothing to hide. Quite honestly, I wanted to hold and cuddle her (like a baby) and make everything better.

All this emotion and all she did was wet herself. Am I going to be able to handle the middle school years, when every kid inevitably gets picked on at some point? Oh boy oh boy oh boy....a mother's heart is very strong and very weak!

On a side note: I have to tell you another story about an accident, why that is? I have been told by my family members that I am hard on Brady but let Reese get away with more. Today, after Brady's accident, I love on her, told her it was okay, explained it happens to everyone, that mommy wasn't at all upset. Fast forward three hours. Brady, Reese and I are all playing a game. Reese says she needs to pee. I say okay go...she comes back and forth several times (holding her privates), checking to see if Brady is playing without her, then to say there was a hand towel on the stool, so forth and so on. Well you know where this story leads...yep, pee on the bathroom floor. I immediately got upset with Reese, raised my voice and explained what she did wrong. As I was firmly talking to her, I flashed back to the hugs I gave Brady that same day for the same thing. Then I thought about how I have been told, i have two different kids thus I have to handle each kid individually and not try to blanket discipline. Brady was already self punishing for the accident and Reese would keep having accidents (I know from experience) until I got firm with her. Oh the adventures of parenting.

Conversations with a child(ren)

This was our conversation on the way to school this morning...

B: "Mommy, I am going to have a cell phone when I go to college?"

Me: "You will actually will get one when you turn 16."

B: "How old is that?"

Me: "That is the age when you will start driving, so I will want you to have a cell phone for emergencies."

R: "How old will I be when I drive?"

Me: "16, just like Brady."

R: "Oh, and I will be a mom?"

Me: Internally freaking out, knowing Reese has no perception of the gravity of that question. Wow..."No, sweetheart, you will have babies in your 20s or 30s. 16 is too young to have babies"

Now, I know it was an innocent question, because to her the person that drives is a mom, but it still made my heart drop! It takes a moment like this to zap to back to reality that these sweet INNOCENT little girls WILL grow up on day and I will ACTUALLY have to talk to them about all this....

Fancy Nancy

My girls LOVE LOVE LOVE being 'fancy'! Almost every morning after getting dressed they ask me if the outfit they chose is fancy enough. they tell me they wished I wore makeup, high heels jewelry and dresses everyday.

Karl recently received another 'pat on the back' at work and we wanted to celebrate by eating out as a family. Brady decided the whole family needed to get fancy for our date. The place we went to even had white tablecloths! I wore makeup, jewelry (that Karl got me from Bahrain), and high heels. I don't have a dress that I could pull off right now, but I did opt for my top with sparkles. Brady got decked out in her outfit bought for the Nutcracker and all sorts of costume jewelry. She also requested I flat iron her bangs for the occasion. Reese proclaimed her "lil sister" shirt she already had on IS fancy! But she did want to wear her special jewelry bought her in Bahrain with her birthstone with some Mardi Gras beads. Karl was barely able to pass the fancy test with a collared shirt.

 love this picture of Reese

I love playing along with the kids!

New and Improved

Santa brought Reese this lovely stool for her second Christmas (yes, she is one year 10 days old). It was great but we think Santa forgot to test its stability on clumsy 3 and 4 year olds. 

After numerous falls from its perch, I decided for the girls safety to remove the legs and have a floor puzzle for Reese in her room a couple of months ago. Reese was the least bit amused. So I asked our handy dandy friend, Jeff, if he could make it into a two step stool which is difficult to flip. Jeff did an awesome job!!! So thankful for his kindness. He even brought me the stool primed and ready for me to get creative.

Reese was SO SO SO excited about her new stool, and both girls wanted to help paint it. Why not? Right. So I started out with a blue background (Reese's choice, don't get upset NCSU fans). Than one morning while still in PJs I let the girls each have a side to paint at their pleasing. 

Here is their description of their masterpieces. 

While I was working on it one morning, Reese decided her part needed more glitter...

After changing the R pink and painting the requested fairies and purple flowers on the stool, this is the final STABLE outcome! Yes, it is busy, but Reese again loves it and that is what really matters.

Extrinsic Motivation

Occasional extrinsic motivation never hurt a soul.

Last week, Karl was fighting a head cold and I was battling back/hip pain that left me in the recliner by dinner time. The result was a MESSY MESSY house. While we normally have the girls help me clean up throughout the day and at night, we were lacking the energy to motivate them. So by day three it looked as though a tornado hit the inside of our house.

Right after dinner on that third night, I went straight the recliner and Karl hit the sofa. We were talking about the mess and hopefully we could feel well enough tomorrow to get to it. Then, I decided bribing my girls can't hurt that much right? So I told them if they worked together to clean their two bedrooms in thirty minutes I would give them candy. They were pumped (and so was I). Without any direction at all from us, this was the result.

While the bookshelves are obviously stacked by 3 and 4 year olds, blankets draped over bed rails etc. I was thoroughly pleased with their teamwork and efficiency. Can you see the pride in their sweet faces in the second to last picture? They certainly earned the candy I promised!

So this is yet another time that I was glad I limit the amount of candy/sugar I give them (they ask for it several times a day). Two reasons: one, they really enjoy it when they do get it and two, I can use it to my advantage ;)

Craft with a Disclaimer

My sister sent me a cute idea for Valentine's to pass out to the girls' friends. Using old broken crayons you can create heart shaped crayons using a silicon muffin pan. Well, I didn't have heart muffin pan but I do have snowflake shaped ones that I bought years ago on clearance to freeze my homemade baby food in. So the girls and I decided to make snowflake crayons to gift to their BFF for her Jan. bday.

First step: unwrap crayons and snap them into even smaller pieces...a step sure to please the little ones!

 Step two: use knife if needed to chop up smaller... hint I think I went a little too small because the end result didn't have the pops of color I was looking for.

 Step three: sort mixed crayons into silicon pans.

 Step four: 230 degrees at 15 minutes...hint, I thought it didn't look ready at 15 minutes, so I did 3 more minutes. But in hindsight, they overcooked which caused colors to mix.

Step five: cool and pop out!

Now for the disclaimer.... Use a cutting board and muffin pans that you do NOT plan on using for food again. I cannot get the wax residue off either... hand washing, scratching, hot dishwasher cycle, etc.

But with that said the girls loved this easy craft and really enjoyed giving them as gifts. Gifts that didn't cost a penny out of my pocket, and we saved broken crayons from the landfill!

Baby Bump: 21 weeks

Boy (well girl) do I feel like you can see the baby bump pop out in this latest profile pic! WOW...funny how one month there is no change and then another month it looks like there is three months of change.

Brady was at Sunday School with her friend during today's photo shoot but Reese decided to show some loving to Baby Elliot. Nothing beats the bond between two sisters!

So I am 21 weeks now. Lots of women like to celebrate the 20 weeks "halfway" milestone. I feel like that is false, because you spend 4-5 weeks not knowing about the pregnancy...and those last weeks feel like months! The milestone I like to celebrate is 23 weeks, because that is when you have caught up with medicine. If something was to happen, and I went into labor, medicine has been shown to save babies 23 weeks gestation and beyond, that is why I like the 23 week milestone, and I am only two weeks away from that YAH!

I am starting to really have lots of back and hip pain. I don't remember it being this severe this early with the other two, but I remind myself this pain is the result of the wonderful miracle growing inside of me. I am LUCKY to be 'bothered' by this pain, it is a pain of joy!

Is it June yet?