Egg Hunt Scrabble!

Tia's class asked us to send in 12 plastic Easter eggs for a project they are doing. I found a bag of eggs at Target but it contained 48 eggs. I figured we'd use the left overs for Easter.
Well, those brightly colored plastic eggs were way too tempting for my kids and I never got to put them away with the Easter decorations.
So, today I decided to turn this latest obsession into a fun and educational lesson. During nap time I hid 30 eggs around the dining room. Each egg was filled with a special 'treat'. A few of them had an M&M inside, but the rest held alphabet cookies. They had a great time hunting for the eggs and never even asked if there was something inside.

They were super excited to discover there was something inside. Here's Gia exclaiming "H!".

And here are a couple of the words Tia discovered she could spell with what she found (with a little help from Mom).

Our little afternoon activity got them excited, running around, thinking about letters, and even provided their snack!

A Nice Surprise

I've been wanting to take the girls to Chuck E Cheese on a weekday while all the bigger kids are in school, when it wouldn't be so crowded.
Well, we had a big drop in temperature today so I decided this was the day. The girls asked if we were having a "stay home day", which is our usual Wednesday routine, and I surprised them by telling them we were going to Chuck E Cheese! Tia had only been there once for a birthday party (total chaos) and Gia had never been.
I was so pleasantly surprised to see we were the only ones in the place for at least an hour. Then we were joined by a set of grandparents and their little ones. What a great time for the kids to explore and play without all the noise and craziness.

Here's my big brave girl on the giant Jeep, having a great time.

Gia insisted on riding with her arm around her new buddy Chuck.

The funny thing here is that Gia just learned about this Teletubby character from a book. His name is "Noo Noo" and she pretends to run and hide from him several times a day. Imagine her surprise when she saw him there, up close and life size!

And the all time favorite of the day was the mini carousel. They both loved it and rode it many times.

So, although I wasn't a big fan of Chuck E Cheese in the past, I have a whole new perspective on the place. We all had a fantastic time and can't wait to go back!

My Fashion Consultant

There she is, my new fashion consultant and adviser. At the age of 4, Tia has recently become very interested in fashion. I let her watch one episode of "What Not To Wear" and since then, she's been talking a lot about things like "putting things together" and "matching". She was so proud of this outfit because of all the pieces of hot pink (boots, shirt, sweater, head band).

The other day I went shopping and bought two new sweaters for myself. When I got home Tia immediately wanted to see what I bought. She laid the sweaters out on the couch so she could take a good look at them. A few days later, while getting ready to go to a play group she said "Mom, I think you should wear your new orange sweater with those black pants". Once I was all dressed and ready to go, she touched my face and said "Mom, you look so beautiful. I'm so proud of you". Yep, that's my 4 year old fashion adviser. She's not going to let me be one of those mom's who let themselves go. Not my kid!

My Kind of Deals!

It's been a very long time since I've found a really good bargain, a deal worthy of writing about. Well, today I hit the mother lode! Here's just a sampling of what I got at Target today.

Five rolls of pink/red wrapping paper .87 ea.

Valentine's for the girls to give out to their classes for the next few years .24 for small boxes, .49 for larger boxes.

Chenille bath rug $2.50 and valentine shower curtain $2.50.
Yes, we will be decorating our bathroom next February.

Long sleeve t-shirts for next year, and the year after (I bought 6 of them).
They were $1.49 each. I just couldn't leave them there!

Go ahead and laugh at me when you see this next one...

Bras, .78 each!

I know my girls are only 3 and 4 so you'll think I'm weird for buying them bras! Well, they were only .78. I'm 100% positive that when they actually need bras, and I have to go shopping, they will NOT be .78. When that time comes, I'll go to my favorite drawer and pull these out. Nothing like planning ahead!

So, overall I had a very successful and productive shopping experience at Target. This almost makes up for missing out on my usual post Christmas deals.

My Little Valentines

Valentine's Day in our house is all about the kids. D.R. and I celebrate a week early by going out to dinner. That way we can make the day more special for the girls. Good thing too because the salmon I bought just yesterday for tonight's dinner was expired and we had to scramble to find other things to eat. So much for a nice dinner at home!

This is what the girls saw when they woke up and came to the breakfast table (the flowers were mine from D.R.).
Tia was very excited. Gia on the other hand requires more time to actually wake up and was not impressed!

Well, that is until she realized that the heart had chocolates inside! Caramel filled chocolate for breakfast. Yumm.

Of course they each got a new book because, well we all know how I am about reading!

After breakfast I made them french toast and used heart and flower shaped cookie cutters. I'm so corny, I know. They loved it and asked if we could do it again tomorrow.
Then after our mixed up dinner where everyone ate at different times, we took the kids to the pool. They had a great time and it was a nice end to our special day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day

Tia had her preschool Valentine's Day party yesterday. In honor of the occasion I dressed them both in their Valentine T-shirts. They were pretty proud of how they looked. I was proud too since I picked up these shirts after Valentine's day last year for $1 each!
They're so close in size now that they can share clothes, and people have been asking me lately if they're twins. My, how time flies!

A Quick Laugh

The other day Tia and I watched an episode of "What Not To Wear". She must have really been listening because today she said "Fashion is about putting things together that match". Then, she picked out this outfit!

Everything she put on is purple. However, Im not sure the fashion experts would agree that it matches!

Yesterday, the girls got a package from Nonna and PaPa in NY. The box was sitting on the kitchen floor and this is how we found Gia just before bath time. We thought maybe we could stamp 'Return to Sender' on the box and she could go to NY for a visit!

The Big Girl of the House

We've been doing a lot of talking lately about Gia getting rid of her pacifier. She has only ever used it at bed time, and it wasn't really a problem. However, we were down to the last 2 and I was not willing to replace them if they got lost. We told Gia the story of when her big sister went to the toy store and picked out a toy, and was able to pay for it with her pacifiers. She thought that was pretty neat and expressed an interest in doing it if she could get a yellow fire truck. We seized the opportunity and took her to Toys R Us on Saturday morning. We found the yellow fire truck, and she didn't like it! She picked out a couple more things, then decided she didn't like them either. She was bouncing around the store like the ball in a pin ball machine. Why do I remember this going so much better with Tia?
She finally picked out a "Princess Palace" (ie. piece of junk) and we ran for the check out. She was so proud to pay for her prize with her very own pacifiers. The cashier was not wise to what we were doing and I had to mouth to her 'throw them out'. Then she got it. Gia didn't ask about those darn things until nap time and then she had a really hard time. This is a child who really NEEDS her naps. Finally Daddy went and let her lay in our bed and stayed with her until she fell asleep.
Yesterday she woke up 2 hours before her normal time and didn't take a nap at all. I took her to the pool last night and got her good and tired out. She went to bed without a problem and slept to her normal time this morning. The only problem she is having now is if she is woken up by something, like a bad dream, she has a hard time getting back to sleep on her own. It's only the second day so I have to say that's not too bad.
Gia is very proud to tell people that she doesn't use a "ba-pa" any more. She wants to be viewed as a big girl like her sister.
She really is growing up so fast. I just scheduled her 3 year check up at the pediatrician! My baby isn't a baby any more, that's for sure.

A visit to the Dentist

Today was "give a child a smile day" at one of the dental offices in town. I guess it's something that goes on across the country to encourage dental health for children. Tia went last year and loved it. This year we decided to try it for both the kids. I took out the pictures of Tia's visit last year and we talked a lot about how much fun it was, to try to diffuse Gia's anxiety.
The whole morning Gia kept saying she wasn't going to the dentist. She's a very strong willed child, so I was absolutely sure she was not going to sit at all.

Tia got called back first, and we all went in with her. Almost as soon as she hopped up in the chair, the hygienist called Gia to another room.

Tia was totally fine with me leaving her so I could be with Gia. She's a pro now!


Look how brave and grown up she looks! She wasn't afraid at all and I'm pretty sure she even had fun. She shocked us all.

Teeth are all clean. No concerns and no cavities!

After a photo opportunity with the "Tooth Fairy", we went to the dollar store and they each got to pick out a prize for being so good. It was their first time at a dollar store too, can you believe that?!
I'm so pleased that they have both been to the dentist and both had wonderful experiences there. On the way out Tia even asked "Mom, can we come here again?". That's what a Mom likes to hear!

A Cooking Day

Tia woke up with a little cold today, which meant another "stay home day". I decided to take the opportunity to do some cooking with the girls. They really enjoy the process, and I really need to be better at meal planning.




First, we made a big batch of turkey meat balls. Gia loved it! Tia wouldn't touch the meat and preferred to just watch. After all, she is our vegetarian.
We also made some turkey burgers for the freezer. Always a great "go-to meal" when I'm out of ideas, or didn't bother to plan ahead!

Next up was a big pot of Sushi rice, Tia's favorite. She calls it her "Benihana rice" because that's what she orders when we go to Benihana. It's a long and laborious process to make proper sushi rice. However, I had my two little helpers so it went great. Here they are fanning the rice to cool
it, a very important step in the process.



















And here is Tia proudly displaying her finished product.

This afternoon we'll be doing chocolate chip cookies. It's a full day of cooking and baking. Sure beats sitting in front of the TV all day!