Carly's Character Breakfast

Today was the Character Breakfast for Carly. Each teacher chooses one student for different character trait each month. They celebrate with a breakfast for those students and their families. Being PTO Pres. I have been at EVERY one, but this was the first time I got to go as a mom. Carly was nominated by her regular teacher for Courage and her EC (resource) teacher for Integrity. I am so proud of her. They will take a picture of all the students for each character trait and put it in the lobby for all to see.

Here is Carly, Grandma Young, Jensyn, and Dee (extreme close up) enjoying breakfast. Jensyn ate almost an entire sausage biscuit.

Leighton with a mouthful.

Carly getting her award for Integrity.

Carly getting her award for Courage. (kind of looks the same as Integrity) (That's our principal leaning down to tell her that they messed up her certificate and that they would make her a new one.)

I didn't get her with her certificate, but I know that Grandma did.

Kindergarten Here We Come!

Leighton went to kindergarten registration today. She has spent so much time at the school that she knows and is known by nearly everyone.

She was very excited to go to the school for her, instead of for Carly or PTO. She came down in her dress and had already combed and put a barrette in her hair. I said, 'You have a long wait, it is only 7:00.'

She worried me all morning, until I finally quit working and ran her to the school to 'graduation' from kindergarten (She could not remember the word registration and they end the same)

She got to meet, again, all the teachers. She got a bunch of papers, lots of stickers, a book, a crown, pencils and other trinkets and the most important, lots of attention.

Here is a picture of her with all her loot.

I just reread this post and realized it needs translation for those of you not in the South. Worried=Pester

Breast vs. Bottle

Whoa! Keep your shirt on! (no pun intended) This is not me on a soapbox, telling you which is best. These are the reasons I breastfeed.

1. I am lazy.
2. I am cheap.

Yeah, that pretty much covers it!

I am incoherent in the middle of the night. I do NOT want to make a bottle, heat it up, and then sit up and feed her. I can get up, put her back in my bed and she latches on, I sleep. I do not like to do dishes. Breastfeeding=no dishes. I pack light. All I need is diapers and wipes (and burp cloths) maybe a light blanket if there isn't a private spot. Formula, bottles and nipples are expensive. Breastfeeding is free and I can use the calorie burn. If I need time away, I can always use my trusty Medela Pump in Style.

I am not a zealot and truly believe that each mother makes the best choice for her and her baby. But, for me and my baby breast is best.

Dear Miss,

After this week, this is really tempting;

Dear Miss,

This is my formal letter of resignation. I will no longer be your Personal Assistant, hereafter referred to as Personal Ass. As your Personal Ass. I was asked to clean your work station, i.e. bedroom, act as a short order cook, coordinate your schedule, supervise all work, play and sickness. I will be unable to perform ANY of these duties. Please accept my resignation as your Personal Ass. without tears, wailing, or gnashing of teeth. I have spent many years at the position of Personal Ass. and feel my talents would be best spent on a new career. I have yet to make a decision as to the date of my final day of employment as your Personal Ass., but it will be sooner rather than later.

Warmest Regards,

Mom

WARNING**RANT**WARNING

People, People, People, the invitation clearly stated R.S.V.P.

Do you know what those letters stand for????

répondez s'il vous plaît
It is french and translated it means: please respond.
It does not mean:

• Respond if you want.
• Respond yes, then don't show up.
• Don't respond, then show up anyway.
• Assume that everyone knows you are coming, you always come.
• Respond the day before the event.

I need to know whether to get food for 10 or 50, whether to set up 2 or 10 tables, how many servers I need. I know Emily Post would say that it is proper to contact those individuals to ascertain whether or not they actually received the invitation, but I don't have time to contact 85 people. It is not as if they are doing me a favor by attending the luncheon. I am not getting gifts, selling anything or getting a commission on the food.

After living in the south for nearly 13 years, it has been brought to my attention that southern hospitality does not include the subtle nuances of proper etiquette. BUT WHY??

JUST CALL, EMAIL, HOLLER, OR MAIL. IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE AND IS GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Thank you.

Feeling Sorry For Myself

I was just sitting here thinking about Jensyn turning one this summer and how it will be so sad to NEVER have a baby in the house. Someone who lights up when I come into the room. Someone who instantly stops crying the second I pick her up. A baby who smells SOOOOO good right out of the bath (thanks Johnson & Johnson). A baby that will snuggle up under your chin and sleep for hours. A baby that holds on tight like a spider monkey. I could go on and on about all the things I am going to miss. The toothless grin, the pudgy thighs, the soft soft skin, the first signs, the excitement at all the new things in this world.

Needless to say, I was feeling really bad about Jensyn being the LAST baby..............................

Then she crawled over and I picked her up. She smiled at me and promptly threw up all down my arm and leg and stank up her diaper.

Come on ONE!!!

Our New Friends

Leighton came to me the other night and asked me if I could make her different. I asked her what she meant and she asked if I could make her look different. Different hair, eyes, face. I put her hair in some pigtails, gave her blush, lipstick and a eyeliner mole. She donned her sunglasses and ran upstairs so she could trick Carly into thinking that she was someone else, Melina who then changed her name to Selena.
Carly, always a good sport, played right along. She even came down and was turned into Tiffany.
Leighton was Selena for several hours. She always kept in character calling Dee, Dee and me, Leslie. Dee, being Dee, called her bluff. He told her that her mom had called and she was supposed to come home. I opened the front the door and said It's been fun, see you later. She thought and thought and then ran up and whispered to me Mom, don't forget it's me, Leighton. We continued to try to trip her up. She asked what Jensyn was and Dee told her she was the dog. Leighton promptly picked up her passie and handed it to her saying Here is your chew toy, doggie. Dee then told her the dog was the baby. Leighton ran in to me and said Um your baby is peeing outside. I tried to get in on the fun, but everytime I said something like We have decided to take Leighton back to the hospital and see if we can get our money back. I would start laughing hysterically and couldn't get it out. I did tell Selena that she was a much better helper with the laundry than Leighton. She agreed. Carly was playing along calling me Leslie and answering to Tiffany, but she was very distracted by the tv. Right before bed, Leighton finally decided that she prefered to be Leighton. I kind of miss Selena, but I am sure she will visit soon.

Happy Birthday, Kannon!

Happy 5th Birthday to my cutest big nephew!! And yes, he is the big brother of the previous birthday boy, Bridger. My sister's body only knows how to have babies in April.

Just wait for Sept./Oct./Nov. my sister in law has that all wrapped up.

Yes,They Are Real.

As most of you know, I have chewed my nails my ENTIRE life. Well, I stopped. I haven't a clue why. I should be uber-stressed, Dee out of work, PTO president and a new baby are not the most calming situations.

Note: I did quit one time before, right before Carly was born. That was a fiasco. I hope it is not an bad omen; Everytime I quit chewing, my life gets turned upside down.

Spring Break Fun

We just finished our Spring Break. We asked the kids what they wanted to do. They, of course, asked to go to the beach. We told them it is too cold. They had nothing else. So, we spent the week, just playing around the house. The girls made Polly Pocket houses out of boxes from my work. They have doors with windows and patios and such. They played chalk and watercolors in the house. They spent LOTS of time outside. The best thing; I never left the yard. There was even a day I didn't get out of my pajamas. Unfortunately, that was the day the neighbor came over to give us their pool.

Tangent: My neighbors just bought an above ground pool and then gave us their old set up and take down pool. The girls are so excited. I am too.

Back to spring break: It was wonderful and I hope that our spring breaks can always be this relaxing.

Happy Birthday, Bridger!

Happy 1st birthday to my cutest little nephew.

Do you know what your child would do???

I was watching one of those programs where the parents are very confident that their child won't go with the stranger. The reporter then shows them a video of their child walking hand in hand with said stranger off to their supposed death.

Those shows terrify me.

I have talked extensively with my girls about strangers. We have practiced saying NO! THIS IS NOT MY MOMMY/DADDY!!! I have given them permission to kick, spit, bite, scream, pee, or anything else they think would make someone let them go. I have even role played that. OUCH!! My kids are mean.

I feel pretty confident that my children would not go with a stranger.

Then I had the realization that if a woman came up to Leighton with long hair, painted nails, makeup including lipstick, a beautiful dress, and high heels, Leighton would be gone. She would not bat an eyelash. As a matter of fact, Leighton would probably be the one to go up to the woman. So now at the playground, I am not looking for Scary Gary, I am looking for the Julia Roberts look-a-like.

Betty Crocker, I am NOT!!

I can follow a recipe. I can bake a cake. I even make a mean meatloaf (thanks, Mom.) But, I can't COOK. My grandma could make a four course meal with whatever she had in the cupboard. My mother-in-law makes dinner (always delicious), takes the leftovers and makes something completely different. Then, takes those leftovers and makes something else. If I have leftovers, they sit in the fridge until they end up the dog's treat. I watch cooking shows. I read cookbooks. I have several friends, you know who you are, who are excellent cooks. I have decided, for my own sanity, that you are born with that talent. I was NOT born with that gene (No thanks, Mom!)

Easter Fun!

Happy Easter!

The girls were very relieved to see that the Easter Bunny was not captured by Grandpa. He brought baskets full of sidewalk chalk, coloring books, candy, umbrellas, bubble swords, a hippity hop and scoops.












After a fancy breakfast cooked by Dee, we went outside to play.



Leighton was a natural on the hippity hop.

Carly is the champion at scoops.

Jensyn even got in on the fun, she took Carly's ball from the scoops and wouldn't give it back.













Then we were off to Grandma and Grandpa's for their famous Easter Egg Hunt.

Leighton in the rock garden finding a lot of eggs.

The crew off to find all of the eggs. There were 139 eggs, for two little girls. They found all but one.
Leighton in the 'forest'.

Leighton in the flower bed.

Carly found this one on the stump.

This one took them awhile, I think they thought it was a flower.

Carly's bag is getting full.

Jensyn even got in on the hunt. (I'm sure Grandpa helped her a little.)

After the hunt, it was time to play on the playground.

Leighton's fancy dismount.

and Carly starting her lastest high bar trick.

All in all the girls had a blast. They loved the hunt, baskets, dinner and a good time at Grandma and Grandpa's.

The only question now:

How am I going to keep from eating all the Easter candy?????

The Skinny..

Jensyn had her 9 month checkup yesterday. She has grown 2 inches but gained only 5 ounces in three months. She has gone from the 52nd percentile in weight to the 6th percentile. The same thing happened with both Carly and Leighton. The pediatrician said to add butter to everything she eats. It is no wonder that my children LOVE butter.

Dee is also getting skinny. He said it is from not going out to eat at work. His pants actually fell down today while we were dying eggs. He stood there a little stunned, until he realized that his pants weren't the only thing that fell off. He reached down and swiftly grabbed them. We all had a good laugh. He immediately went in and found a new belt.
Carly's eggs (can you tell which colors were closest to her.)
Leighton's eggs (ditto)

Leighton, my (what is a nice word for clumsy?) one, only dropped one egg. Here is the casualty.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amanda, you jinxed me!!
Our hard drive crashed, again. The first hard drive crashed when Leighton was about a year old and we lost everything. We replaced it and it crashed again. This time we only lost about a months worth of pictures, thanks to the external hard drive my in-laws bought us for Christmas. We are staying away from Compaqs from now on.

Museum Visit for Leighton

We have been having behavior issues with Leighton. I have tried timeout, nose in the corner and taking away toys and privileges. None of these seem to work. I thought I would try something different. On Monday, I gave her 5 tickets. I told her that I would take her to the museum on Friday. I would follow her this time. She could look at whatever she wanted, for as long as she wanted (brave, I know.) It would only cost her 1 ticket. The catch: every time she misbehaved during the week, she would lose a ticket. She was game. Well, it wasn't the best week, but needless to say on Friday morning, she had 1 ticket left to pay her way into the museum. (Thanks to Dee being too tenderhearted to take her last ticket away for knocking over the lamp.)

Here are some pictures of her wonderful day.

Leighton's first hijacker. Can't you tell she is having the best time in the butterfly house?

She batted her big black eyes at the curator for the butterfly house and poor Ms. Claire was taken in hook, line and sinker. She found an older butterfly and let Leighton hold it. She was the envy of the museum. Every child and adult came up to her and made some comment, whether it was Cool! or You are so lucky! or even How come she gets to hold one? Leighton soaked it all in. She was in heaven. Thank goodness the butterfly exhibit closed at 3 or we would still be there.

This is enough to make your skin crawl after you have looked at the Giant Hissing Cockroach, the Black Widow Spider and the Millipedes. Plus, we are in the south. BUGS BUGS BUGS!

My favorite, the underwater tunnel of long ago.


I learned something new. This is a cashew tree with a cashew (not real-it is a museum) hanging from it. They are toxic until the cashew has been roasted to remove said toxins. I would hate to be the guy who found that out the hard way.


This is Leighton acting afraid of the giant ladybug. Vivian Leigh she is not.

After Leighton lifted up this flap to read the information, I had to control the germophobe in me to not pack it up right then.

Leighton in her favorite hollowed out tree. I think we came back to this one at least 15 times.

The poor couple in the background were informed all about the bat exhibit. She showed them the machine that turned sound into clicks (like the bats hear), she showed them the bats in her hollowed out tree. They were very sweet and very quick, in moving on to something else.

Jensyn went with and was a perfect angel! She must know my rule about public places: Embarrass me in public with bad behavior and I just won't take you in public again.

This is for you, Amanda

Jensyn has a birthmark on her lower back. It was very dark at birth and has gradually gotten lighter. I was telling my friend, Amanda, about it and she said that I should take a picture of it before it disappears. So here it is...

Here is her 'tramp stamp.' Hopefully, she won't get one to replace it in 18 years.

Get Outta Here with that Thing!!!

This is why there are not more pictures of Jensyn.

It takes fifty of these pictures.



To get two of these.

10 Things I Love, Starting with...

I have been tagged by Tia, again. She was very kind to give me the letter R.


1.Reading-I could lose myself in a book all day
2.Roses-wish I got them more often
3.Red-my favorite color
4.Rest-I love a nice nap
5.Ready for Bed Kids-love that freshly bathed smell
6.Romantic Dinners-not enough of those
7.Really clean house-I don't get this very often either
8.Reeses Peanut butter cups
9. Retail shopping-who doesn't love it
10.Rich desserts-Yum!!!!!

Tag you're it:
Jen- J
Becca-B
Coree-C
Megan-M