Silly Faces

Lily loves making silly faces.  She really can only make one, but it still is fun to watch her "pretend" that her silly face is different than the last one.  She loves them so much that she has started teaching Allie how to do them.  Today was the first time that I could catch them BOTH doing the silly face.

PS My camera still hates the bathroom so these are fuzzy too.

Bath

Our girls LOVE taking baths.  Of course I dont' really know too many young kids that don't like baths.  I mean who wouldn't love splashing, toy, and bubbles all at the same time?  This morning I told my girls it was time to get in the bath and to go to the bathroom so I could help undress them.  They ran off giggling.  I finished cleaning up the kitchen and after a few mintues followed them to the bathroom.  Walking in the door I found the girls in the bathtub apparently ready for a bath in their minds.  For some reason I didn't quite agree with the "ready" part.

{PS Sorry the pic is blurry but my camera hates the bathroom.  Too much glowing white surfaces or something else that won't let it focus}

Little Red Wagon

I love living at the end of a cul-de-sac.  It is so peaceful and quiet.  Cars hardly ever drive by our house during the day.  While I'm busy with my yard the girls get to do fun things like this because of it.

Allie loves getting a ride in it, and sits patiently as they go up and down the sidewalk.

Lily actually LOVES pulling Allie around.  It is moments like these that I see her growing up.

Bye-bye now!

6 years

The other day I was telling someone about the unusual circumstances surrounding mine and Russ's marriage.  As I was talking it donned on me that our anniversary was just around the corner and it would be our 6th anniversary.  Where has time gone?!  I still look at us and see the two goofy kids that everyone asked if we were even old enough to get married. LOL!

 

Russ very slyly got me some roses' last night after his dentist appointment.  He knows how much I love getting flowers and always spoils me with them whenever he can.  These ones were particularly gorgeous I thought.

Early morning I got to go garage saleing with a friend.  It was the first time I've gone to more than one garage sale at a time.  We had a lot fun giggling, and finding treasures.  I was pleased with myself for only spending 25 cents. This little excursion started my day off on the right foot.

Upon returning home I found a card addressed to me sitting on our computer.  Apparently the mail man came early today, or so Russ says.  Inside was a funny card, and some money for me!  Russ noticed my clothes are starting to get on the tattered side, and he also knows I have a hard time spending money on me instead of the girls.  He also said he is going to set aside some time for me to go shopping by myself.  Let me tell you what a luxury that will be! I felt horrible after this because I had forgotten to pick up his present from the store the day before.  I had it all planned out too, but it slipped my mind.  I guess he'll just have to get it late. A week late since he is going to Cali on Sunday.

The rest of the day was spent working on our front flower bed....or maybe I should say shrub bed.  We now have an "almost" finished shrub bed.  We can't decide if we need to relay some mulch or not in a corner of it.  For some reason that section of mulch was a different size than what we covered the rest of the bed with.

Early evening we cleaned ourselves up from gardening, and some neighbors {who are also in our ward} came over and babysat the girls.  Russ and I went out to eat at La Casona, our favorite Mexican restaurant.  It was so good, but I ate way too much.  Afterwards we wandered around the mall talking and in general just killed some time.  Now if you want to feel old go to a mall on Friday night.  I swear there were first graders there without parents!

Around 9:00 we went and saw Clash of the Titans.  Horribly made movie, but it was fun to watch together because we kept comparing it to the Percy Jackson books we just read.  We even were lucky enough to get a drink and some candy with some "date" money my parents had sent us in a card.  Finally we got home and relieved the babysitters.  They talked to us for awhile at the doorway.  It is nice to have adult conversation every once in a while :D

Even though we didn't do anything spectacular it felt great to go actually carry on a conversation with Russ.  Not only that but strengthen our bond as a husband and wife.  I'm so grateful that Russ and I found each other.  He makes me laugh every day with his sense of humor, and that is something I look forward to doing the rest of my life with him.

Guess what starts tonight!

I've been waiting for this to start since a friend got me addicted in December.  It starts tonight  in 17 minutes, but *sigh* I won't be watching.  That's okay me and my laptop have a date with each other later in the week t catch up on some TV we've missed. 

So who to do you love from Glee?  I think Finn is the best!

February and March Roundup

I said back in January that I was going to do this every month and I meant it.  Then we moved....All things go out the window when you move.  I decided that I'm still going to roundup the month, BUT I'm going to do both February and March at the same time. Enjoy the novel that follows ;)

1.  What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

            February:

                  The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

            March:

                   Food Rules: An Eaters Manual by Michael Pollan

                   The Digital Photography Book: Vol 2 by Scott Kelby

                   The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

                   The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan

                   The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

2.  What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month?
      February:
          LOST started this month, and as usual I'm glued to the TV screen when it is on.  I have to watch this
          alone because Russ lost interest when the smoke monster wasn't a dinosaur. 
      March:
          Dancing with the Stars came back on. I must admit that I've been bored with the last few seasons and
          stopped watching.  I decided to wattch this year because Kate from Jon + Kate plus 8 was on the
          show.  I should have just stayed away.  The show still doesn't hold me interest even though I watch it
          every Monday night.

3.  What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?
     Nothing fabulous happened with the family.  We've been to busy to have fun.   But I have thoroughly
     enjoyed spending time walking with a couple of ladies in my ward.  Also playgroup is such a nice break
     from the mundane of our schedule.

4.  What gifts did I give and/or receive?
      I'm lame-o and didn't get my St. Patricks day gifts done on time.  Actually, I didn't even get Allie's done
      because I couldn't find it admist our boxes.  The funny thing is at the time I was sure I had put it
      somewhere safe so that I would be able to whip it out and have it ready.  Lily's was two days late getting
     done, and Russ didn't get his until he got back a week later from California.  It's the thought that counts
     right?!

5.  What special or unusual purchases did I make?
     February:
          I bought a Satsuma at the local Master Gardner's Citrus Sale.  I was nervous and excited all at the
          same time to be purchasing the first plant for my yard.  Since buying the tree it has been planted in my
         yard, and is starting to blossom.  I'm so excited to be getting tangerines in a few years from it!

         Our house of course!  I still can't believe sometimes that we have a house.  Being in a house before 32
         was important to me.  We were lucky enough to make that five years early.  Unpacking is going slow.
         For some reason I don't feel rushed to get settled.  But as it comes together I plan to show more and
         more of it.

     March:
         Lawnmower 

6.  What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
     February:
          None
     March: 
          The flu.  Holy cow was it whopper of a flu.  Glad it is over and I'm FINALLY feeling 100%.

7.  What were my accomplishments this month?
     February:
          I didn't go crazy.  Russ was gone 3 of the 4 weeks in February.  The week he was here we signed on
          the house.  I was tied in knots from stress.  I only survived the month with blessings showered upon me
          by Russ, my family, friends, and my Heavenly Father.  Each of them in their own way were there for
          me when I needed someone.
     March:
        I was asked to stay on as a semi-permanent CTM for digiscrapbook designer. 

8.  What were my disappointments this month?
      For both February and March I was disappointed in the fact that I had wroked so hard to find some
      composure in my life and it was gone so quickly.  So many little stresses got the better of me these past
      two months I wound up back as a muddled, confused mess.  But I didn't give up {which I normally do}.

9.  How did I do on my goals for the month? (Or any current short or long term goals)
    Well I didn't give up on them, but they didn't work out as neatly as I would have liked them too.  All my
    patterns and routines I had started in January and February went out the window.  In March I tried to start
    over, but it didn't work.  The bright side of the whole ordeal is that I knew from the beginning this would be
    a process.  I knew that I might slide back, and I prepared myself for that. I didn't lose hope.

10.  Anything else noteworthy to include?
     I have been doing a lot of scrapping lately.  When I'm upset I tend to turn to scrapping to ease my stress.
     I currently have set a goal to create 100 layouts before Dec 31.  I'm well on my way.  These are the
     layouts I created.  If you would like to see credits for them, or see them larger you can go HERE

Dislocated Elbow

You know the days where you didn't really doing anything that should make you feel exhausted, but because of all the stress from the day you were exhausted?!  That was yesterday for me.  Around 3:00 Allie woke up from her nap and wanted water in her new water bottle.  The only problem was that she had brought me Lily's.  I grabbed Allie's and filled it up with water and handed it to her.  She through a tantrum and ran away.  I should have left well enough alone, but I didn't.

  I chased her down.  I grabbed her hand and started walking her towards her water bottle when she decided she was going to have none of that.  She sat down quickly and twisted her body.  I felt something pop twice, and instantly Allie started bawling.  She ran away, hid in the corner, and held her wrist.  I trapped her in the corner and tried seeing what was wrong.  Every time I got near her arm she would start crying harder.  I finally decided to call the pediatrician to get an appointment.  Upon calling them and hearing Allie crying in the other room they told me to go to an Urgent Care or the ER to get it x-rayed.

I quickly loaded a diaper bag with snacks, told Lily to go the bathroom and grab some books, and we were off.  We drove to Angleton {20 min away} and signed in to the Urgent Care at 4:00.  We then waited.  By this time Allie had calmed down and only cried when I bumped her arm or if she forgot it was hurt and reached for a toy.  She refused to sit anywhere but on my lap. Lily of course was bouncing off the wall with another little girl there.  

About 5:30 the nurse came out and said to all of us that the DR would arrive in about 50 minutes.  What?!  There hadn't been a doctor there while we'd been waiting. AUG!  I of course had to stay and wait there because by then everything was closed except the ER.  So we waited.   Russ showed up about 30 minutes later.  He helped keep Lily in one place and traded off holding Allie.  Already I was physically and mentally exhausted from the whole ordeal, so the rest was greatly appreciated.  

At 6:30 the nurse came out and said it should be 15 more minutes and then the DR should be there.  Hmph!  Again we waited. FINALLY at 7:30 we got called back.  The DR came in and we explained what had happened.  He listened and said she had probably sprained her wrist or rotater cuff but her elbow was fine.  He suggested getting an x-ray if anything swelled up, and to give her so me ibuprofen.  I asked him, well do you know what one it is?  He said no and we went on our way.  I was irritated because he didn't tell us what was wrong nor had he really even tried to figure it out.  He hadn't moved Allie's arm to see what it was.

As things go in my family I told my mom who told my brother about the whole ordeal.  Now Alan is an athletic trainer, and deals with sprains and stuff on a daily basis.  When he heard what happened he said {and I got this 3rd hand from my mom} that he was pretty sure it wasn't her rotator cuff but more likely her elbow or her wrist had dislocated.  This a common thing in kids, and they recover quickly from it.  He gave the advice of letting it rest and giving ibuprofen.  After hearing this I felt much better.  Almost 100% his diagnosis and advice is right.

By the time we got home from buying ibuprofen and dinner it was 9:00.  The girls got dinner and went straight to bed.  I had to move Allie's arm for some reason, and she totally yelped.  I got brave and decided to experiment.  I gently moved her wrist, no yelping.  Then I moved her shoulder, no yelping.  Then I went to touch her elbow and Allie wigged out.  I hadn't even touched it just got near it.  With the matter of deduction we new that my brother was right.  Her elbow had been dislocated/strained.

We laid Allie on her back so she wouldn't hurt her arm more.  About 15 min after laying her down, she let out that painful squawk she'd been making all day.  She yelped for about 10 secs and then was done.  I was surprised because earlier she would whine for a few minutes after she had moved her arm.  I figured that the ibuprofen must be working.

Then my sister called {remember mom calls everyone}.  She proceeded to remind me about how my nephew had dislocated his elbow three time as youngin'.  Each time he had relocated it himself without knowing it.  I hoped that had happened with Allie.

After the late night I hoped the girls would sleep in, but no at 7:30 Allie was up yelling, "Maaaaaa!!!!! Dahhhhhhh!!!!{Dog}"  I went in and she reached up to me with her arms.  Her left arm{the left one} was significantly lower than the other one, but it was up and she wasn't crying! I was so excited!

The rest of today she favored her arm a bit but by the end of the day she was using it like normal.  Thank goodness.  It is amazing how stressful things get when your child is hurt.  I'm also amazed by how fast children heal.  We do know that we have to be extra careful from now on because once it dislocates it is even easier for it to dislocate again. 

So you wanna make me feel better?  What kind of stressful things have happened to you and your children that has turned out not to be as big of a deal after the fact?  Can't wait to hear your stories ;)

Grandpa gets a new home

We spent some time outside today, or as Allie calls it "sigh?" And yes she always says it at as a question.  Maybe we don't go out enough so she thinks she always has to ask if we can go.  Hmm....anyway this is what the girls did....

And this....

And this too....

And in case you can't tell what "this" is,  the girls were using Lily's scissors to cut the flowers{weeds} and put them in a chair to collect them.  On a side note Lily just recently got her scissors back from her hair cutting experience. Oh, one more side note...check out what the humidity is doing to her hair.  I keep thinking she looks like Goldilocks.

While the girls were busy romping around, I was busy giving Grandpa a new home.  When my Grandpa Price died my Grandma was given 20 something baskets of houseplants.  Grandma gave each of her kids and grandkids one of these plants.  Russ and I always name our plants and shortly after receiving our house plant we dubbed it Grandpa.  Poor grandpa has been abused by me.  If anyone knows anything about me, I kill house plants.  I can keep outdoor plants alive, but houseplants get killed alot.  I've managed to keep grandpa alive{barely} even though he's got frostbite, sunburned, and got dehydrated MANY times.  Grandpa has been with us for three years, and for about a year now he has been in desperate need of a new home.  The basket he was in was just to small for him. 

Anyway, I broke up the two plant that make up Grandpa and split them in too.  I got creeped out for awhile as I found out that a spider had been making homes in the basket.  It even crawled out to say hello.  I greeted it with my shoe.  I plopped Grandpa in to containers and Lily and Allie helped put some dirt around him.  I was so happy to get this accomplished since I've been meaning to get around it for so long.  Here is a before and after shot of Grandpa...

And one last unrelated side note.  When I received this plant I was so excited that I had got this particular one.  Why?  Because it had a marijuana plant.  See that plant on the left?  My mom had one of those plants in her house, and it grew like crazy!  She finally had to give it to my sister since it got to big for her house.  Anyway, Grandpa would always call it a marijuana plant.  So in an odd way this plant had some sentimental parts to it.  It brings back great memories of Grandpa when I look at it.

New Bed

We have a "To Buy" list about a mile long.  Things we need have been put on it and sat there for years.  The list really hasn't gotten shorter because we had been waiting to get a job before buying anything.  Then we got a permenant job and we decided we should save for a house instead of whittiling down the list.  With the house out of the way we've decided to start conquering the list.  The first thing on the list....new beds for everyone!

For the past six years Russ and I have been sleeping on a bed that my grandparents gave us.  As newlyweds we were grateful to be getting a bed for free.  We still are very grateful for that gift however, we now know that  there are a few problems with 20 or 30 year old mattress.  For one thing the springs have started popping out of the side of the mattress.  Another problem is that it gives both me and Russ back problems.  

On Friday the day had finally come to find a bed that we could replace our well loved one.  We hit a local store and found a TempurPedic knock off that we liked, but felt like we could find much cheaper elsewhere.  So we headed to Houston.  Lo and behold we found a new one for about $500 cheaper at a store up there.  After some VERY creative positioning we managed to get our KING mattress and box springs home in our minivan.  

We were so excited about getting it all set up we skipped dinner.  The girls didn't like that idea but we did :)  Russ unwrapped the thing, let it expand, and then adjusted it on the box spring, and adjusted it, and adjusted it.  But the dang thing would line up!  We figured it needed to expand a little more, so we had dinner.  We checked on the bed again, and it STILL didn't fit right.  I got out the ruler and measured it, and determined we had been given a California King.  Ugh!  The matress had been mislabled.  What rotten luck!

Since Saturday Russ has been trying to get ahold of the manager at the furniture store to determine if they will pick up the mattress and exchange.  So far we are getting the run around.  Hopefully we'll eventually get our new bed.

On Friday and Saturday we also looked for a bunkbed for Lily and Allie.  Allie needs to get out of her crib, and Lily doesn't fit on a toddler bed anymore.  After multiple trips to multiple stores we are still at square one, NO BUNKBED.  We can't find any that we like that are also in the color of white or mocha brown.  Sigh, I guess we'll be looking again next weekend.

Easter Weekend

Go, go, go, go has been the motto for this weekend.  I'll fill in more details later, but I just wanted to leave you with a sneak peek at one of the silly things the Easter Bunny did this last weekend.  Care to guess what exactly he did?  See if by the picture you can figure it out! {I think it is fairly obvious, but I could be wrong}

Easter Egg Hunt

Last year we tried to go to the city egg hunt and I ended up appalled and frustrated with the whole experience.  Shortly after moving to our house I noticed that the city we live in now also did a city egg hunt.  I had hope that this experience would be much better since our current city is much smaller than our previous city.

We arrived about 5 minutes before the egg hunt started.  A kind elderly "helper" told us to go to the under two section and let Lily stay there as well.  I was happy about this because I was able to get pictures of both of them.

Lily was beyond excited about the egg hunt.  She ran around snatching up all the eggs.  We had to slow her down a little bit since she was with the "under 2" group.

Allie of course was intrigued with the brightly colored eggs.  After a little urging she got the point and started picking up a few.  She had a hard time beating the parents carrying around their 2 months old to the eggs. But she still got about seven eggs.

When all the eggs were collected we ended up with five mini skateboards, 10 yo-yos, 5ish rolls of stickers, 3 rings, and NO CANDY.  I was stunned that they didn't hand out any candy.  I didn't mind though, less dentist bills for us ;)  The biggest surprise was Allie received $1 as a prize.  She didn't care much about it, but Lily was very distraught that she didn't get one.

I'm glad that we now a fun little Easter egg hunt to go to each year.