Happy Birthday D.R.!

Yesterday we celebrated D.R.'s birthday just the way he wanted.  We went out for sushi as a family.  This wonderful man I married didn't want any fan fare, no presents, no hoopla.  Just a nice dinner with his favorite girls.
On Sunday we also treated him to a huge egg white veggie omelette for breakfast.  Tia and I made his favorite oatmeal cookies, since he doesn't eat cake or ice cream.
All in all, I think he had a very nice but simple birthday weekend.  Just the way he wanted it.

Happy Birthday to our best guy.  We love you!

Oh...The Things Gia Says!

I know I've said it before, but this kid cracks me up.  Here are a few of the things that had me laughing this week.

Gia: Mom, why was Daddy your boyfriend first?
Me: Well, that's usually how it works.  First you get a boyfriend, and then he becomes your husband.
Gia: (big smile on her face)  I think one day I'll get a boyfriend too!

**Keep in mind, she isn't 4 years old yet!**

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Gia:  Mom!  You scratched me!
Me:  Oh, sorry, that was my ring.
Gia:  We better tell Daddy to get you a smaller ring.
Me:  Well, I like my ring.
Gia: But it hurts me!

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Gia: Daddy, you know you have to get Mom a smaller ring.  Hers scratches me.
D.R.: Oh no!  Well, when you grow up and meet a nice boy maybe he'll get you a ring like that.
Gia:  Daddy, that boy will be YOU!
Me: Hey, if you marry Daddy, what will I do?
Gia: You can be the babysitter.

**I so fondly remember when Tia went through this phase.  Little girls are so sweet**

Who Do You Want to Be?

Gia came up to me a couple days ago and asked "What do you want to be?".  I wasn't sure where she was going with that question so I asked for some clarification.  She said "You know, like when you grow up, what's your job gonna' be?".  Hmmm, OK.  "I already am a grown up and I do sign language, that's my job".  Her response "No, you don't!".

Oh boy, how could my kids be 4 and 5 1/2 and they haven't a clue about my profession!  How did I  miss that one?  I was beating myself up about it for a few minutes then I realized something.  I am not defined (at all) by my career path.  What I do is not who I am.  I bet most of my friends who I met post-college don't even know what I do.  If I told them at some point, they've probably all forgotten by now. 

If someone were to write a story about you, how much of it would be about what you do for a living?
American's are commonly referred to by their profession.  "Hi...nice to meet you...what do you do?".  Or "that's my friend Dave, the doctor".  It just seems so important to us.  We even include career information in our obituaries!
Now, let me be clear that I do want my girls to know that I have a profession.  That I went to college and got a degree that is worth something, and that I gained knowledge that I use in my work.  I want them to know that they can have any career they want to have.  So, at some point I will talk to them in more detail about my job.  However, for now I'm pretty happy being their Mom.  That's the most important job I'll ever have.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We're not at all Irish and have never celebrated St. Patrick's Day.  However, the girls are learning about it in school so I figured we had to do something!  I was ill prepared, but a little food coloring goes a long way.  The girls started the day with a nice bowl of green apple sauce.
















They insisted that it tasted like lime or mint.  Try explaining to two preschoolers that food coloring doesn't have a flavor!
Then of course I had to make green pancakes, because I'm crazy like that.  Ahh, nothing like a little  food coloring for breakfast.  I wonder if there have been any studies on the lasting side effects of food dyes.  Nah.

Both girls wore the only green shirts they have.  They are girls after all so most of their clothes are pink and puple!  I never got a pic of Tia in hers, but here is Gia...

She was so proud of her giant green head band for "safe patriss day".

That's the extent of our celebration.  We hope you had a great St. Patrick's Day!

Too Much Going On...No Time To Blog!

We really have been terribly busy around here, and I haven't written about any of it!  I used to be such a faithful blogger.  I better work on that.
So, here's a bunch of random stuff that's been going on in our family, just to get you all up to date...

The kids have been doing "swimmingly" in their swim lessons.  We all went to family swim over the weekend and D.R. was amazed at the change in both of them, especially Tia, as far as their confidence level.  What a difference a few weeks can make!  I'm proud that they will both be able to swim WAY better than me by this summer.

We're in another session of gymnastics and the kids are loving it.  They'll demonstrate their somersault to anyone who wants to see it.  It's amazing what these little bodies can do.

We finally bit the bullet and booked our vacation to Disney World.  We're going in September and made the mistake of telling the girls about it now.  Tia went right to her closet and got out her bright pink suitcase and announced she was ready to pack!  Oh, how to explain what "6 months away" means to small children.

Both girls are absolutely loving school.  It's so refreshing that they look forward to going, every day.  Gia is taking right after her Mommy with her desire and passion for reading.  She's not yet 4 but is sounding out words on her own, as well as spelling and writing.

Spring has sprung here in the mid west.  I'm happy that all the snow is gone and warmer weather is here.  However, Tia and I suffer miserably from seasonal allergies and the warmer weather means allergy season has begun!  I was on the ball this year and started the daily medicine at the first sing of sniffles and sneezes.  I learned my lesson the hard way from last year.  Other than that we're all healthy and seem to be (knock on wood) keeping all the school germs at bay. 
This probably helps...

They have both decided they like "Cuties", those super sweet and juicy mandarin oranges that have been advertised all over TV these days.  Yay for Vitamin C!

That's all for now.  I promise to be a better blogger from now on!

You all know I LOVE a good bargain, and I love to plan ahead.  While shopping at Target I spied my favorite sign...75% off. 
I found these hats marked down to $1.24, so I bought 4 of them for next year (2 in each style; no fighting).  I'm so proud of myself, and the girls love the hats, so that's a bonus!

Gia prefers the polk a dots

Tia liked the tassles

I also got them matching gloves for .25 cents.  Yay me!