Happy Halloween

Around here people really go all out for Halloween. I've never seen anything like it in my life.
First of all, the neighborhoods have designated times for trick or treating. Ours was 4-8pm. In my day (I know I sound old here) we couldn't go out until after dinner and when it was dark out. Not here. The kids get off the school bus and get right into costume.

The other noticeable difference is that the parents all get involved. Not one kid was unaccompanied tonight, and you should see these people. Not only do they all go with their kids, but most of them dressed in costume. Several times I saw packs of parents traveling together with drinks in hand! It's hilarious. They make a big party out of it. The parents who stay home to pass out candy set up lawn chairs outside. It's pretty common for 2 neighbors to share the responsibility together so they sit out in their yards, with drinks of course.


As you can see it was a gorgeous day here in Illinois. No coats needed. It was so refreshing to get outside and walk.
We went right out at 4:00 since our kids are so little. We just went up and down our street. They both caught on so quickly, and really enjoyed themselves. We came back home for a short while and they sampled some of their loot. After that Tia and I went around the corner to some of her friends' houses. She loved it and didn't mind one bit that we weren't going up to every house, only the ones where we knew the people.


On the way back home she said "Mom, my feet are too heavy, can you carry me?".
We sat outside and passed out candy to the rest of the neighborhood. Both kids liked looking at the different costumes.
Gia couldn't understand why she couldn't eat all of her candy tonight. She also didn't quite know why I was giving candy away to other kids, and not her!
Thankfully I gave them their dinner at lunch time since I knew they would be eating candy at dinner time.


Here is our little cheerleader, not wanting me to take her picture. She was just so darn cute!

The case of the missing slippers

While tidying up the family room this evening, this is what I found.




Four different slippers. No pairs, just four distinctively different slippers of various sizes. Where are the mates you might ask? I am asking myself the same question. Apparently my kids having warm feet is more of an issue for me than for them. They take them off all over the house and just leave them where ever they land.
I'm sure I will find the mates in some other part of the house tomorrow. I just hope these four will stay put until then so I will have at least a pair or two!

When I told Tia she could pick out 2 pumpkins, one for her, one for her sister, I had no idea she would pick such small ones. The good thing is they are way too small to carve. I have heard of so many people painting their pumpkins this year, so I figured that would be a fun alternative to carving.

Here is Tia painting her pumpkin

Gia wasn't interested in painting (Oh thank you God!)
So I gave her Color Wonder markers instead. What an awesome invention!


The Artist at work



And the finished products.
She decided to paint Gia's pumpkin too!

One of those days...

when we should have stayed home! The day is not even half over and I am already counting the hours to bed time. Here's how it has gone so far.

Tia woke up at 4am. screaming. Nightmare. Drink of water and tucked back in.
Gia woke up at 5am.. Diaper change, back to bed.
I figure I am up at this point so I should just get up and exercise. I do 30 minutes on the elliptical and am able to shower without any disruptions. This is a rare occasion. I feel good about my accomplishment.
The kids both sleep in. Normally that would be a great thing but today is Gia's first day of "Tot Rock" music class. We have to be out of the house by 8:45 to make it on time. Once they are awake I rush them through breakfast, getting dressed, hair brushed, coats on...it's a lot of work.
We arrive just in time to check Tia into the day care and run down the hall to the music class. There's no one there and no lights on. I stop at the front desk to inquire where the class is meeting. Now here's the highlight of my morning. The receptionist says...

"That class was yesterday".

I am privately thinking "you've got to be freaking kiddin' me! But I keep my mouth shut and go back to pick up Tia who is thoroughly confused.
Now I figure lets just go get some things I need for dinner tonight and then the Parent-Tot Center will be open so the kids can just play and have a great time. We get our groceries, and then in the parking lot I step in a pot hole that nearly swallowed my entire foot. Yep, the one I sprained once before. What on earth could happen next!?

We go to play group. The kids have a blast. I notice that Tia and an older boy are pushing the merry go round while running alongside it, not on the horses. I go over and stop them and tell Tia she has to ride ON the horse, and not next to it because I am afraid she will fall and hurt herself. She obeys, gets on the horse, then the other child takes off pushing the merry go round at the speed of light, and can you guess what happened next? You got it, Tia fell off, bending her thumb backwards! I don't know if she was in excruciating pain or just terrified, or both. She screamed like I never heard her before.
I should mention that the boys mother was sitting right there not saying a word about her sons behavior, even after Tia fell. Lovely.
Tia at that point wanted to go home. Fine with me. I give them sandwiches in the car. Once home I realize Gia has more sandwich on her coat than in her tummy. Note to self, jelly was not the best choice.
Ahhh, both kids are in their rooms. Gia is napping. Tia however is talking to herself.
If there was ever a day that I needed her to nap, it's today!

Another great bargain

Tia's room gets super cold in the winter. We have tried to get her to use 2 blankets, but for some reason she really doesn't want to, no matter how cold it is in her room.
D.R. and I figured maybe she would do better with a comforter. I had been looking and really was not excited about spending $30 on a comforter for a toddler bed!
I happened to be in K Mart the other day so I ran through to check out the bedding. They had some Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty blankets for $27. I was not thrilled with that price. On my way out of the bedding department I ran across an entire toddler bed set which includes a fitted sheet, top sheet, pillow case, and comforter. There was only one left, and it was Little Mermaid. Tia likes Ariel but I hesitated because it wasn't pink (she wants a pink room). Then I looked at the price.
It was originally $35.50, marked down to $27.00, final mark down price...

$7.00!

When I brought it home Tia freaked out. She immediately wanted to make her bed and hop in. She didn't care one bit that it isn't pink. She told me this morning that her new bed set helped her sleep better.
This is my kind of deal!

Race for The Cure

Today I participated in the "Care 4 Cancer" breast cancer 5K race. There were nearly 1000 participants this year, the biggest yet. It was great fun and the weather held out. All week it was threatening to rain but held off for this great event.
I met up with a couple of ladies from Weight Watchers. We crossed the finish line together and our time was 55:33. I know we could have done even better but there was such a bottleneck at the beginning that it was difficult to get a good start. Doesn't matter though, we had a good time, got some miles under our belt, and raised money for a great cause. All the money raised today goes directly to serving women right here in McHenry county.

Although this was a breast cancer event, we have all been affected by cancer in one way or another, not just breast cancer. So today I did this race for them. The survivors, warriors, and of course those who lost the battle.

I know we could all come up with a list like this. Here is mine.

The Survivors: They fought and won!
My cousin Nancy
My Mother in Law Teresa

The Warriors: Still fighting every day.
My Mom. Don't lose hope.
My Uncle Herb

Those who lost the battle: They put up a good fight.
My Aunt Ida Aceto
My dear friend Brian. Only 41 years old.

A photo opportunity

I can't even begin to describe how difficult it is to get a picture of Gia. Typically she runs in the opposite direction of the camera yelling "no no no" all the way. It's very frustrating to say the least.
Today I thought she was just adorable in overalls and wanted a picture, but she wouldn't cooperate. Later I found her on the stool in the bathroom brushing her own teeth (her new favorite activity). I grabbed the camera and at first she screamed. For some reason she let me take this ONE without a horrified look on her face, and that was it.
So, here is one recent picture of my baby. This is as good as it's going to get for the time being.
Enjoy.

Brrrrrr

I think I have poor circulation. There isn't much else that can explain how my hands, feet, and um...my bum, are so cold all the time. I am talking about fresh from the freezer cold. Sometimes D.R. can't even cuddle me at night because my posterior is so darn frigid it starts to freeze him. Now that's cold!

I have begun a new campaign to try to correct this imbalance of body temperature. Normally each day if both the girls are napping at the same time, I cuddle up with a huge blanket and try to watch Rachael Ray. It's just a little slice of "Me time" that I look forward to. However, it doesn't matter how much I bundle up, I sit there with cold extremities. I have noticed that it only hits me when I am still. If I keep moving the cold doesn't really set in.
So this week my new mid day routine involves doing about 20 minutes of yoga on the Wii Fit. Unfortunately I don't get to watch Rachael, but it's a sacrifice I am willing to make if it works. In fact I am sitting here right now with 2 pair of socks on and wondering where I left my slippers. This is insane.
I know the Wii isn't exactly a killer workout by any means. I still do my regular aerobics classes and elliptical trainer. This is just something extra that I hope will get the blood flowing.
At the very least I am clearing my head, getting some great stretching and deep breathing, and improving my balance. It's got to be better than sitting on my cold butt doing nothing.

Boo Boo

At the doctors office yesterday the kids were having great fun until the nurse came in with her basket of needles and other goodies. Having just had their own flu shots, they recognized the paraphernalia all too well. They both immediately started crying before the nurse even got started. Once she stuck me with the needle, Gia yelled "Oww, oww, boo boo". It's amazing to me how she can not only remember that when she got her shot it hurt her, but to be able to transfer that feeling to what was happening to me at that moment. And she was able to put those feelings into words!
Later in the evening D.R. was asking Tia about our visit to the doctor. She told him I got a shot. He asked her if it hurt me and her response was "No, it was just pretend". She must think since I didn't cry, that I didn't really get a shot.
They are hilarious!

I'm starvin' here!

Well, today is the day I go for my blood work at the doctor. Because I am on a cholesterol medication, I have to go in a couple times a year to make sure my body isn't freaking out.
You would think with all the exercise I do and fiber I eat, my cholesterol would be below normal, but not so. "Heredity" the doc says. For this I have the Aceto's to thank. I love them all so dearly that I will even forgive the bad genes they passed on to me.
Anyway, my point is I can't eat before the blood draw and I am hungry. I miss the days back in Rochester when I could go to a lab at 6am. and be home by 6:30 to eat breakfast. Not here. They do it at the docs office and they open at 8:30.
I also have to take the kids with me since D.R. left for work an hour ago. In Rochester I could be there and back before he left. Oh well, we'll have to see what kind of adventure this morning will become.
I guess I'll go pack a breakfast for the car ride home!

Can't fool this kid

Tia has been potty trained for about 6 months now, except at night. I have always put a diaper on her at bed time and it hasn't been an issue.
Now for some reason she is resisting the diaper, saying she doesn't want to wear it and that she isn't a baby. I asked the doctor what to do. He said she is expressing her independence and need to be the 'big girl' which is common at her age. Especially since there is a 'baby sister' in the house. He said it will be quite some time before she will be able to wake up dry and although she continues to need a barrier at night, it doesn't have to be a diaper.
He suggested "Pull Up's", training pants, or "Under jams" and to let her know that they are just for her and not her sister.
I have always thought of these things as a glorified diaper and just another way for the diaper industry to continue making money. Well, I broke down and we went shopping. Tia and I picked them out (the package was pink with Princesses). I called them her "special night time underwear".
That night I pulled one out of the package, she looked at it and said "Mom, that's a diaper!". There's no fooling her, no matter what we call it, it's a diaper.
She's absolutely right, but she's just too darn smart!

More family fun

Fall festivals are a big deal here in the midwest. The best thing is that Tom's Farm is literally right around the corner from us and Tom goes all out to make it fun for the kids.
Here are some pictures from our morning on the farm. Because there are so many, I made them small. Not to worry, you can click on each picture to view them full size.
Enjoy.

Future farmer Gia.

She really wanted to see Bert and Ernie but this is as close as she would get.

This cute little train ride gave them a tour of the farm. Tia just loved it.

Tia has been wanting to get her face painted ever since she saw it on Caillou.
She finally got her wish.

We all had fun. Thank God for the warm sun because it was a bit windy and cold here this morning. I don't think the kids cared, they had a blast.

The recap

Well, Tia was beaming when they got home last night. D.R. says she wanted to be on the dance floor all night (except to eat a cupcake). She was particularly impressed with the disco lights. She saw her friend Ashley there but told me "Ashley didn't want to dance AT ALL".
They are both still talking about it today and can't wait to go next year.
Great memories.

Happy Sweetest Day

I have often mentioned that we live in a real "home town" kind of place where everything seems to be about the kids. Here is yet another example of what I mean.

Today, the Huntley Recreation Center hosted their annual "Sweetest Day Daddy-Daughter Dance". Tia and D.R have been looking forward to this event for weeks. In fact when D.R. mentioned that he was going to wear a pair of slacks and a dress shirt, Tia said "I think you forgot something. You're wearing a suit!". So, to fulfill her wish, he indeed wore a suit. Gia is a bit young to go this year but will most certainly be part of the festivities next year.

Here they are getting ready for the big night out

(For the record, our bed was made until the kids decided to play hide and seek with the comforter.)

Here's Gia noticing Elmo on Daddy's tie

And the very handsome couple on their way

It's 8:00 and they aren't back yet so I can't write about what a great time they had. I will have to get all the details when they get home.

I have to say these are the things that make this a great place to raise a family.

30 Pounds

How fitting that I would be writing about my own weight loss, so soon after my entry on childhood obesity.
Well, the news of the day is that I finally hit the 30 pound mark at Weight Watchers (40 overall). It has taken me almost 16 months to do it. It feels like forever, to be honest. There was a woman at the meeting this morning who had lot 40 pounds in 4 months. I envy her, sort of. I know that this is something I will do for the rest of my life so it doesn't really matter how long it takes. Besides, everyone says when it comes off slow, it's more likely to stay off. Makes sense to me. I read some research that says you should only lose 10% of your body weight at a time, and maintain for 6 months after each 10% so your body can become accustomed to the new weight. I guess my body likes that idea and wants to take it slow.
I feel fit. My clothes are loose. Those 'skinny' clothes that are hanging in my closet from my pre-kids days are calling my name.
40 down, 30 more to go!

Childhood Obesity

Something happened at the girls doctor appt. the other day that caught me off guard. The nurse routinely asks a series of questions regarding development such as "can she scribble with a crayon?, Does she know the difference between boys and girls?", etc. Then one of her questions was "Is Tia involved in any sports activities?". I was a bit thrown by this question since Tia is only 3, but then said "Yeah, she takes dance class, does that count?". And the nurse gave a very positive response of "Yes! That's what we want to hear".
Later I noticed on the paper they gave us that shows their stats...height, weight, head measurement, they included Tia's BMI. BMI for a 3 year old?! Doesn't that seem absurd. They never discussed this number with us but since she is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight I am assuming her BMI number is normal too.
D.R. and I both laughed about this. Later, I realized these things are most likely a result of the childhood obesity epidemic in this country. That's really sad to me.
How times have changed.
Dance class for a 3 year old would be laughable when I was a kid. We also didn't have video games or cable television. We had our back yard, kick ball, hide and seek (outside), roller skates, jump ropes, and our friends. We spent as much time outside as possible, no matter what the weather. I can clearly remember coming in from playing in the snow, fingers frozen, and my mother having to soak them in the sink. I also have fond memories of running through puddles in the pouring rain.
This doctor appt. was definitely a wake up call for me. I was relieved and proud that we didn't have to discuss a weight issue. It also reinforced my belief that we need to get our kids away from the television and outside in the fresh air.
I sincerely hope our girls don't become overweight or even worse obese. However, even if they are chubby at some point, that's OK as long as they are active and understand the value of exercise. All the more reason for me to continue my daily exercise routine so they will have a visible, positive example.

2 Healthy Kids

That's what we have. Both girls did just fine at their well child check-ups today.
Tia was a brave girl and seemed to thoroughly enjoy her interaction with the doctor. Let's just say Gia is a different story all together. At her age, Tia wasn't exactly fond of the doctor either so it's just what I expected.

Tia is exactly in the 50th %ile for height and weight. She's 34 pounds, 6oz. and 37" tall.

Gia is in the 75th for weight and 90th for height! We don't quite know where she gets the height from but that's great. She's 27 pounds, 8oz. and 33 1/2" tall.

They both got their flu shots so let's hope for a healthy winter.
We are blessed with two very healthy little girls.

Sittin' like Aunt Kimmie

I just had to take this picture because every time Tia sits with her legs crossed, she says "Look, I'm sittin' like Aunt Kimmie".
She's right. Aunt Kim usually does sit with her legs crossed. It's funny how she remembers these things.

Funny talk

I was telling D.R. that I have to remember to call JC Penney to make an appointment to get the kids pictures taken. Tia yelled "No, I don't like her!". I asked, you don't like who? And her response was "Jenny Penny".

On the way home from dinner last night D.R. was trying to have a serious conversation with Tia about the importance of holding hands in the parking lot, and how dangerous it is, and she could get hurt, etc. Her response was "OK Dad, relax, just relax!".

Today Tia decided to try to play with her new learning laptop. The female computer voice asked her "how many triangles do you see?". She answered a few questions, put the game down, and came back to it later. The voice again asked her "how many triangles do you see?". Apparently frustrated that she had to answer the same question again, her answer was "Ugh, just one lady!".

How can you not crack up at that?!

3 years ago today...

our first little angel was born. She was a week over due, and not willing to budge! She arrived via emergency C-section and has been a constant source of joy ever since.
We are so amazed at how far she has come in 3 years. She knows things that a 3 year old should not comprehend. Wise beyond her years, you might say.

Here is a re-cap of her big day. Remember we already had her party a couple weeks ago so today was just family day.

Still with puffy eyes, not fully awake, she opens her presents from Mom and Dad.
First, the Sleeping Beauty Movie.
She likes to call it "Sleeping Tia".

And a learning lap top which her sister is more interested in than she is.
Maybe after she watches the movie 20 times, she will like the lap top.

After presents and one viewing of the movie, she had pancakes for breakfast. They are her favorite breakfast food by far.

After a walk to the park and naps, we went to dinner for sushi. Yup, this 3 year old asked for sushi for dinner! D.R. and I were more than happy to acomodate this request.
The owner of the restaurant sent over a huge piece of cake and some ice cream which she had no trouble finishing.

I wanted some pictures of all of us today but unfortunately Gia was not willing to participate. She is definitely strong willed and there is no way we can make her do something once she has her mind set. So, here are the pictures we got with the birthday girl.

We're pretty sure she enjoyed her day. In essence she has been celebrating for a month now. She's probably confused about when her birthday actually is but that's OK. She's special and deserves all the celebrations she can get.

We live in an area that is truly "home town USA". There's always something happening around town for the kids to do or see.
Today most of the schools had the day off so the Huntley Fire Department brought 2 of their trucks to the library parking lot for the kids to explore.

Here's Tia not exactly sure if she wants to get all the way in the truck. I love how blue her eyes showed up in the picture.

And here she is deciding 'Nope, this is definitely not for me. Too big, too crowded!".

But it turns out the truck wasn't all that bad once she had the security of a friend (Kyle), her sister, and a snack.
Life is good.

More closet adventures

Since Tia asks every day which dress she can wear, and usually begs to wear one that is not appropriate for the weather, I have come up with a solution.
I saw this rack on clearance (of course) at our local Toys R Us that is going out of business.




It is perfectly eye level for Tia. I hung about a weeks worth of dresses that are appropriate for the season on the new rack. Now when she goes in her closet she knows she can pick something off the lower rack, and there's no arguing, no tears!

I also thought this would come in handy when she is in school. I can hang a weeks worth of outfits on the rack so when it's time to get dressed in the morning we aren't hunting around for something to wear at the last minute. Maybe she and I can pick out 5 outfits on Sunday before bed, and save tons of hassle during the week.
I swear I am a genius!

Why I have so much laundry.

Tia wakes up and asks which dress she can wear. This has been going on for a couple weeks now.
Today, this is what she picked out.


It's ironic because this dress used to belong to my God Daughter Alia, and today is Alia's birthday.
Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

We go to the mall and of course get ice cream. Tia gets a little on this dress and must change when we get home. That's OK with me because it's almost nap time anyway so I put her in some pajamas.
When she wakes up she wants the pajamas off immediately and picks out a new dress. I put the pajamas away for later because they are not dirty (thank goodness for that!).
She picks out a new dress.
The girls have dinner and Gia gets hers all over her, head to toe. I wash her up and change her into pajamas thinking we are in for the night. Well, I forgot to pick up D.R.'s dry cleaning. He asked me so nicely to do it since he would be working late, and I agreed.
OK, gotta' run out again but I let her go in her pajamas because we're only making one stop.
The LOVELY lady at the cleaners gives the girls each a HUGE lollipop as we leave.
Great, just great. They not only get the stickiness of the lollipop all over themselves, and their clothes, but all over my clothes! We are all a big sticky mess.
I make them finish the lollipops outside so they won't get the house sticky too.
Now Gia needs new pajamas, Tia's second dress of the day is a sticky mess, and my pants and shirt also need to go in the wash.
I was not planning to give them a bath tonight. I try to skip a night here and there so they don't get dry skin, and it's better for the environment too.
Well, at this point I must bathe them, and put clean pajamas on them both.
So let's take a wash tally...

2 dresses for Tia.
1 outfit, 1 pair of pajamas and 1 pair of socks for Gia.
one shirt and one pair of pants for Mom.
2 very sticky wash cloths.

And I wonder why the laundry seems to never end? This explains it all.

Out of the house after 3 days

Ahhh, it felt great for both the kids and myself to get out of the house after being cooped up for so long. We are used to being on the go almost every day. It was a rainy morning so we headed to the mall. They ran around, rode the toy cars, discovered the Disney Store (first time, many ooohs and aaaaahs) and of course, had ice cream.
What a treat.
Since I never shop at the Disney Store, I had forgotten how fun it can be, and had no idea they have clearance items! woo hoo for me.
We have a couple little girls in our neighborhood who absolutely LOVE Ariel. I had them in mind when I saw this back pack and lunch box. They were sold separately but hook onto each other. The back pack and lunch box together totaled about $7! I couldn't believe it.



Of course I bought 2 each in anticipation of being invited to one or both of their birthday parties. Now I have their gifts all set.
If for some reason we don't get invited, then Tia will have a new set for new school next year (and a spare)!
What little girl wouldn't love to carry this around.
On a side note, can you believe with all the Princess stuff in that store that Tia was absolutely fine walking out of there without buying a thing for herself!?

Doing our part

I am not totally obsessed about taking care of the environment, but I do try to do my part (D.R. would disagree here because I am always on him for the things he throws away that could be recycled).
I recycle all of our newspapers, cans, milk jugs, etc. I also try to reduce the amount of waste that I contribute to the landfills.
That's part of the reason I have never bought these little plastic containers of juice for the kids. The other reason is that we just don't give our kids a lot of juice.
Well, thrifty Ronda took over environmentalist Ronda, because I had a great coupon and they were cheap!


So, after splitting a juice with the kids this morning (the extra Vitamin C is a good idea for all of us right now), I looked at that container and thought "There's gotta' be something I can do with this". I asked Tia if she thought it would make a good penny jar and her response was "Yeah Mom, let's recycle it!". This kid is too much. I assume she learned that from one of the shows on PBS.
So, we broke out the paints, and she had a blast. I will cut a slit in the top and she can keep her pennies in it.
The cool thing is that it's her own creation, and it won't end up in a land fill somewhere.


She told me that she would like to paint one for her sister too. That means we have 4 bottles left. Anyone need a hand painted penny jar? Made to order!

The Creepin' Crud

That's what my Dad used to call it when we got sick.
"Looks like you've got a case of the Creepin' Crud".
Yup, that's what I feel like. This Fall has not been kind to me. I was sick a month ago and now again. This time it didn't get better. I have strep throat. My doc says my tonsils are almost touching, and he doesn't know how I have been able to swallow. Let's just say it hasn't been easy. He couldn't believe I still have tonsils considering my age, and the size of these bad boys.
I haven't had strep in 20 years. I sure hope it's another 20 before I get it again because this is no fun.
Now I just have to hope the kids don't get it too. I haven't kissed them in 2 days.
This is killing me!

Kiddo Halloween Party

Today was our Mommy Group Halloween Party. We couldn't have asked for a better day. It was gorgeous. Tia of course was a Princess, what else would she be! Gia refused all costumes so I just put her in a Halloween shirt. Then she refused to let me take her picture. Please don't think I am playing favorites here. She really wouldn't let me photograph her!



Tia has been talking about wanting a Pinata ever since she saw one on Sesame Street. Well, they had one at this party which made her day! She got a couple good whacks at it but eventually a Mom had to step in to get the job done.









After the candy came out, Gia made her way over to a kid she didn't even know, and begged him for a lollipop. He gave it to her. She was lovin' life.

Later our little friend Maya, who is 4, was seen having a very in depth conversation with Gia.
I'm not sure what she was talking about but find it interesting that Gia just stood there and took it all in!


It was a great day for both the kids. They had fun and enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine.
They were both so tired they went to bed without so much as a peep.

More bargains

I am so proud of my bargain hunting abilities, I just have to share again.

Here is Tia wearing a beautiful Gap Kids corduroy dress that I got from a garage sale for $1. Her leather shoes (honestly, real leather) I bought on clearance last spring for $3.50. I just cut the tags off this morning.
I got so many comments today on how adorable she looked. Can't beat the price!


To round out the day in true thrifty fashion, I broke out these pajamas.

You can't really tell from the picture but they are thermal which is great because Tia's room is the coldest room in the house and I worry about her all winter long.
I just dug them out of her dresser, still in the package. I bought them at end of season last year at Target for, get this....$1.98! Needless to say I bought 4 pair (2 for each girl).

I think I am a bargain addict! I was at Target again this afternoon and found a package of 7 pairs of girls socks for less than $2.
I must be stopped!

Some serious conversations

Today Tia must have been in deep thought because all 3 of the following conversations happened today. Remember, she isn't quite 3 years old yet.

Conversation #1

Mom, I want to do something to make my Grandmuver feel better.
Really, who's your Grandmother?
Mema.
Oh, what would you like to do to make her feel better?
I think I could send her something.
What should you send her?
Um, some cookies, a couple oranges, and a nice cold drink.

Conversation #2:

I tell Tia I am going to the doctor (chiropractor) and will be back soon.
When I returned, this is how it went.

How are you feeling?
I'm fine, how are you?
Well, you went hospital, you OK?
I went to the doctor and I am just fine.
Doctor check out your tummy?
No, just my back and neck.
Get a shot?
Nope, no shot today.
Get a lollypop?
No, my doctor doesn't have lollypops.
A sticker?
Nope, no sticker either.
My doctor gives lollypops. I don't want a shot Mommy. Ju Ju go first.
You want Gia to get her shot first when you go to the doctor?
Yes, she go first.
Will she cry?
Yes, she go first. I don't want a shot.

Conversation #3


I watched baseball with Daddy when you left.
Oh good, did you like it?
Yes, I want to go there.
To watch baseball?
Yes. I want to wear a beautiful dress there.
A dress to the baseball game?
Yes, I need a beautiful green dress to wear there.

C'mon Mom!

I thought the girls looked so cute waiting patiently at the door for us to go for our walk that I had to take a picture. It was only 58 degrees out but we did it and had fun. They are great sports!