Bunco!?!

I'm off to play Bunco for the very first time but I will blog extra long tomorrow. Today has been one CRAZY day! :)

Abby tries to eat Puffs

Out with the old and in with the new

I have so much to write tonight, I do not know where to begin. I guess I will start from the most recent and move backward in the day..........

As I sit here and type we are embarking on a major challenge: breaking the paci habit! Madelyn is up there right now completely without her beloved pacifiers (even the one we cut a few months ago she has really grown to love it despite the fact that is was "brokey"). This is like tightrope walking without a net, man. We did it and we are not turning back.

This is how it all went down. This afternoon after her nap I told her the Paci Fairy was coming to take her paci to deliver it to a new baby that really needed it. But the good news: the Paci fairy would bring her a princess blanket to have in her bed. To this idea she jumped up and down. She took one last long suck and placed them on the rocking chair by her window. I suggested we leave a window open so the Paci Fairy could get in easily with the blanket.

After dinner she was so excited to get upstairs to see if the Paci Fairy had visited this afternoon. In fact she did and left the princess blanket spread out on the rocking chair. Madelyn talked to Kevin and I for several minutes telling us all about how the Paci Fairy came to take the paci to the babies, etc. It was pretty funny hearing the snippets of what she understood of this TALL tale we had spun for her.

Of course we told her the Paci Fair would be watching her tonight and if she has a good night and sleeps without the paci, the Paci Fairy will leave another toy for her.

So while there is no crying and whining for paci right now, she is not asleep yet. Perhaps she is trying to stay awake to see this Paci Fairy? Or have we scared her by leading her to believe some little fairy will be watching her all night? Or we going to have to do this same thing with the blanket in a few months or years? So many questions! I'll keep you posted...

On to Abigail! She had Puffs for the first time today. (If you do not know what Puffs are, they are like Cheerios but they melt quite quickly in one's mouth--a perfect first "finger" food.) Of course I am just as obsessed with choking so I crumbled them up for her. It is already hard enough for her to grab, not knowing yet how to work her hands, and I make it even more impossible by making the pieces even smaller! Oh well. She did well actually. I am not sure if it was the texture or the taste but when she did get some in her mouth she was making a gagging kind of face. I am sorry to report Madelyn and I were cracking up. I had the video camera rolling. Another entry for America's Funniest Home Videos I suppose. I tried to link the video to the blog but it keeps saying "oops, no video!" I'll keep trying.

So all in all a very good day! In with the new (eating finger foods for Abby) and out with the old (Madelyn's paci)......

I hope we do not have a long night ahead of us. All this time that I have written this and tried to figure out how to add a video, Madelyn has been up there just talking and "reading." That is very unusual. Usually she falls asleep right away. Oh man, I think we are in for it. :{

The best part about today: We all laughed today at nothing. I started laughing and I cannot remember what about. Then Madelyn started, then Abby. At that point I don't think any of us knew what we were laughing at but we did not care. It was good to just laugh!

7 months down....

Abigail is 7 months old today! It is amazing how fast the time goes...and also so slowly in other ways. But I always thought once I got to 6 months things would be good. While things are not 100% under control (see previous blogs!--hee, hee) life does seem to make so much more sens then it did 6 months ago. "They" say the first year with two little ones is the roughest so here's to 5 months more to go. But really how easy can it be when they are both walking, talking and exerting their own will? We'll see. I will just be happy with today.

We hosted the neighborhood playgroup today. A real circus in our own backyard! Actually things were mostly fine. The biter came and was in full force. Madelyn got two bites but was overly anxious to play with this little friend time and time again. That's a funny thing about kids. If someone bit me, I'd try to stay away. No problem for her---she just hit back. What a pair...the biter and the hitter. Oh man. Just trying to manage that was enough to send my blood pressure through the roof. Plus lil' Miss Abigail loudly protested when I put her down or someone else tried to hold her. She was just having one of those needy days.

Today was really nice though so we had the crew out in the backyard. That was great. If you have not been to our house we kind of have two backyards because there is an enormous hill in the middle of the yard. But it worked out great for playgroup because we had activities in the upper part (chalk, bubbles, playhouse, picnic table) and activities in the lower part (swings, slide and sandbox). All in all I think it worked out okay.

I would insert a cute photo here (there would have been many opportunities to take said photo) but my hands were too full to juggle the camera also. Feel free to imagine a bunch of two year olds whooping it up! :)

Some of the playgroup friends were unable to make it today due to a stomach bug. I am hoping and praying that bug passes us by. We have been so lucky so far. I hope our luck continues!

The best part about today: Meeting a new friend for Abby---a new neighbor has a little girl (Emerson) that is just 3 weeks older. They were so cute sitting together watching all the big kids. Soon enough they will be on the move too.

Happy hour

Happy hour takes on a whole new meaning when you have children. The happy hour I am talking about does not involved any drink specials or half price appetizers. Let me back up a bit.

If the day would have ended this afternoon I would have give today a major thumbs down. At 2:30 this afternoon I had a roaring headache and TWO screaming little girls (no naps).

I had started out so good. The girls slept in a bit and I got up, had a shower, checked e-mail and wrangled the piles of laundry downstairs (and got 2 loads underway). But somewhere it all went wrong.

We went out to pick up a free cozy coupe style car for Madelyn. (We now have a moratorium on wheeled toys in this house. We could host several friends and everyone could have their own bike or car.) It was free but it was a trip to get there, the drive took about 30 minutes each way. Everyone was okay in the car. As a reward we went to the playground to meet Kim and Lola. Fun, right? No way! Abby screamed (so much that everyone was staring!) and Madelyn was being a meanie to Lola. I am not sure why the aggression started up again. So we packed up, both kids crying (and me on the verge) and headed home for lunch.

MORE TEARS.

Ok, fine. Everyone is tired, it's naptime.

MORE TEARS.

NO NAPS!

I now had the headache. (I wonder why?) On the verge of loosing it completely, I took a Motrin, tossed the kids in the jogger and we headed outside. There might have been smoke coming from my sneakers I was walking so fast and so hard around the neighborhood. It was a great idea though. It was beautiful (even a little hot) outside. I got my energy out and magically they stopped crying. Hallelujah! They both actually even took a little snooze. I am sure they needed it after all that crying.

By the time we did at least 3 laps around the neighborhood, I was calmer and so were the kids. So we played outside until the magic happy hour, 6pm, when Daddy comes home!!! Things were already looking up but with Kevin home I just felt like I could breathe easier.

Even though I swore the kids were going to bed early, it was so pleasant outside we had to soak up the warm weather. Madelyn was dying to go into the playhouse and Abby was kind of interested too.

Isn't it crazy to see Abby standing there? WOW! She is something. She is going to love what the Easter Bunny is bringing her.... You see part of Kevin's hand because she is not 100% steady yet. In fact right after the photo we had a little mishap. But those little legs are sure getting strong!

Other exciting Abigail news to report: her first tooth is breaking through. Maybe that is the cause for the troublesome sleeping. Who knows but the little tooth has just broken through in the last few days.

The best part about today: Burning some extra calories with my super hard walk. (Though the pizza we ordered for dinner will probably cancel that out. HA!)

Weekend of weekends

Why is it that I cannot adhere to an early bedtime? Every morning I wake up (dog tired!) and think, okay, TONIGHT, I will go to bed early. And how many hours is it until I can go to be bed? HA! Then the day goes on, the night comes and I am up later than I should be. These children could care less if I am up late. They wake up at about the same time every day though it seems to be getting earlier and earlier for Abigail. That little girl! (No naps today for her plus she had the nerve to wake Madelyn up also. Grrrrr.)

We had a very nice weekend. It was busy because we of course tried to do too much. But that's okay. We did do some buying, which is always fun! I hope and pray I finally found the right double stroller for me. We bought one today that seems like it will be good. I am so tired of having so many strollers. My strollers are like shoes---a different one for a different occasion. Hopefully this will be more versatile. I took it for a spin in the grocery store and felt very stylish. One lady did bump into us with her cart but I think that was really her steering problem, not ours.

We also bought an outdoor playhouse and a children's picnic table at a garage sale. Madelyn is crazy for the playhouse. We got it all cleaned up today during her (abbreviated...thanks again, Abby) nap. But when she came downstairs to see it all cleaned and re-assembled she was literally jumping up and down at the window. We all took a tour of her new home...including our neighbor Amy. I think she summed it up well. An adult in the house looked like something out of Alice in Wonderland. Very cute though! We are hosting neighborhood playgroup this week so we will see just how many toddlers can comfortably fit in there.

Okay for real...I have got to go to bed because again these kids really do not care if I am up late. Here's a to beautiful weekend ahead---see how tired I am? I mean week ahead. No doubt we will be stroller'ing all over the place to test our hot new wheels!

P.S. I have to add just one more note about the Shamrock Shake (sorry I previously said I had written my last about it....but this is good.) As it turns out the McD's that is literally within walking distance of our house HAD it! But they must have had it for a very, very limited time, like one week, because I swear we went there the week and a half before St. Patrick's Day. Kevin saw the sign and asked at the counter but it was already sold out. Maybe it was my letter to the head honchos that brought it to my neighborhood. I doubt it but that is all very ironic that I ranted and here it was at a stone's throw. :)

The best part about today: Feeling the warm sunshine.

The post-dinner power struggle

Hey, big sister, can I look at your magazine?


No way! Buzz, off little sister!

Pretty please? Just for a second, big sister, I just want to read one article.

I said NO, little sister! And no means NO!

{Several minutes pass and the power struggle continues, until.....}

When I said I want to read it, I meant I want to eat it. And just to let you know, big sister, little sisters always get what they want. ;)

The best part about today: We went to the mall today for "Family Fun Day" and it was fun. We had a great time dancing to the rockin' music for kids. We even had some sing-a-longs! The carousel ride after was a big hit too!

All aboard!

I am in a pretty grumpy mood right now because I just got home from the community association meeting. Holy moly. It was painful. I am going to try to put that aside (and never go to a meeting like that again!) and post a cheerful blog because we had a really fun day.

(DEEP BREATH)

So we had a great day. Today I took the girls on a "field trip." Wednesday is normally our neighborhood playgroup day but today the playgroup went to the B&O Railroad museum. I was a bit nervous about taking them both by myself since I am still not 100% great at taking them on big outings but it worked out perfectly. I was a force to be reckon with for sure. I had the double stroller and the carrier for Abby. Of course Madelyn did not want anything to do with the stroller nor did Abby so I pushed the limo of strollers around without wither kid in it! It worked great for carrying all our stuff. Of course I had snacks, drinks and an emergency arsenal of things on hand. You never know what challenges may arise. What a confidence boost it was for me thought to have done it and we all had a great time.

Madelyn had a blast getting on all the huge trains. Look how tiny she and her friends look next to the enormous train engine. Geesh!

Today was toddler story time so they had a special room set up for the kids to play in and hear the story. Today's story was about a fire fighting dog so all the kids got a fire hat. Madelyn loved hers and was the only kid in our group that sat through the whole story. Those 3 weeks of school! ;)

Abby listened to the story also and seemed to really enjoy herself. She very couragously sacrified her morning nap for the sake of a fun outing. What a martyr!

After the story time all the children were invited to ride on the kiddie train. There were so many people we had to wait a while but it was worth it for the lil' conductor in her big pink coat. Whoo, Whoo! What a great time!!

We will have to go back again when it is warmer. They have a great outdoor train garden, play area (train themed of course) and offer rides on the real trains. Cool! It was just too chilly today to spend much time outside.

Everyone was nice and worn out for afternoon naps.

The best part about today: Waking Madelyn up with out genuine wooden train whistle....now we can really play train at home.

Kids can be creative

Ok, I can really see the value of turning the TV off and letting kids just be creative. They really can come up with some wonderful things if you just let them be. This afternoon my friend Jenn came over for a visit. After dinner, Madelyn grabbed Jenn's very stylish scarf and for probably about 30 minutes we played all kinds of games with this scarf.

Madelyn played dress up for a while--flinging it over her should in perfect diva style.

Then we played "snake" (waving it side to side on the floor) and we all took turns jumping over it.

Then a kind of limbo game.

Then parachute.

Then various objects flopped around on the scarf. Some were too heavy to bounce around (a book) and some were light but flopped off (Abby's fav. duck!)

So it was a complete education really, all in a simple scarf: science, math, gross motor skills. Amazing! Looks what happens when the TV is not on. Maybe I should take the TV out to the shed. We'd really be a "crunchy" family if we went TV-free with our co-op energy, community supported agriculture, recycling, etc.

Nah.....I'd miss MY shows---like the cheesy reality shows I waste my time watching. I am missing the best of the worst right now...the search for the new Pussycat Doll! ;)

The best part about today: Catching up with an old friend.

Magnificent Monday

Today I did not leave the house until after 7 p.m. Ok, that is not true. I guess I did go outside for 45 seconds to bring the trash cans to the side of the house. But I did not really get out in the world until after 7 p.m. Most people would think that is really crazy but I have to admit, today was great. I think when I just had one child I had a real need to get out, everyday, as often as I could. But now with two children there is always some entertainment right here. Plus the endless things to do: someone always needs to be changed, someone always needs to eat and someone is often napping...and don't forget general playtime! I think that is the big difference between one and more kids---it's never boring.

Abigail is learning how to use a sippy cup. She's really interested. I think it does surprise her when something come out though. Here's a little look at her at lunch today, trying to figure out this food and drink thing:




We did the ol' train and airplane sounds as the spoon goes toward her mouth. She thought that was hysterical. Madelyn liked it to and was soon calling out what vehicle sounds were next: "train!" "car!" "rocket!" "boat!" (huh?) I did it all as best I could. So we ate and laughed through lunch today. It was really nice.

The best part about today: Two girls took two long afternoon naps which allowed me to get some stuff done (like signing the girls up for swim lessons, making a doc. appt for Abby's weight check, catching up on e-mail, etc.) and put a couple things up for auction on Ebay (I'm really getting into it!)

Could we handle 3?

Oh no, no, no, no....we are not expecting again. But today we did have a little taste of what it would be like to have 3 children. Can you say crazy? Thankfully nature does not allow one to have children spaced as closely together as the three in our house were today. I can see why. We were BUSY!

Our old neighbors, Deverie and Eric, are moving in a few weeks and we volunteered to babysit their adorable 9-month-old son, Ryan, for a few hours. This is the scene: Ryan is just starting to crawl; Abby puts everything in her mouth; and Madelyn is well, all over the place and in your face, especially when you are smaller than she is. Everyone did fine and we all survived but we are 100% exhausted. Getting all 3 kids down for an afternoon was a real challenge. In the end, Ryan slept and the Nelson girls did not. Oh well. We believe in proper hospitality so it seemed only right that our guest should receive the best treatment.

I think I am too tired to even write any more tonight.

The best part about today: "Sleeping in" (until 7:30am...is it sad that I consider that sleeping in?) The little ones were up off and on last night for some reason so we all lost a few zzz's. Thankfully we went to church yesterday afternoon so we could relax this morning. It was wonderful!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Well the leprechauns did visit us last night! They turned over a bunch of chairs and left green footprints in the snow. So we know for sure they were here. Madelyn was so surprised. She said "uh-oh....." and then turned everything right side up. To show us we were good sports to put up with their shenanigans, they left us some green rice krispie treats. Yummy! Here is O'Madelyn sampling one:



Here's O'Abby in her St. Patrick's Day best:


And the two little Irish lasses:


The best part about today: We went out to a very happening Irish pub and I had a very yummy reuben sandwich.

Will the leprechauns visit us?

I wonder if the funny leprechauns will be able to make their rounds in the ice and snow tonight. Hmmm. I hope so!

Do you know what these silly green men do on the after midnight on St. Patrick's Day? Lots of crazy things like pushing pillows off the couch, rearranging picture frames, turning over cereal boxes. They are messy too in their mischievous ways! They are completely harmless and quite friendly. Often they leave a trail of green sparkles too. As if you did not notice they were there with all the crazy things they did! But they do leave treats. Chocolates and coins usually. I sure hope they can make it tonight, despite the icy conditions here in Maryland... They are magical little people so I am guessing they will still visit.

Want them to visit you also? Check it out: http://www.ehow.com/how_14821_leprechaun-visit.html

The best part about today: Since Kevin was off today I was able to spend almost the entire day doing "photo management." We have so many photos saved on CD so I uploaded and printed them. Yikes!!! It took a long time but it does feel good to have it all organized now.

Two cuties and a leprechaun

Today was good. Despite our best intentions, we did not do much because the girls were on complete opposite sleep schedules. That was fine though. Everyone was happy and I had quality time with both girls. I had a photo shoot with Abby. Check out the Cubs fan in disguise. The Nelson side is mostly Sox fans but I am sure they would agree she looks too darn cute to hide.

In our alone time together today, Madelyn and I talked about St. Patrick's Day, hunted in the yard for shamrocks and constructed a leprechaun. He is featured below, listening in on one of Madelyn's fake phone calls. Just after this photo Mr. Leprechaun suffered an arm and leg amputation. I am happy to report he has just come out of surgery and thanks to the Target brand glue stick he is expected to make a full recovery....until tomorrow when his fate is again in the hands of a 2-year-old that sometimes plays a little rough.

We had an enjoyable trip to the library this afternoon. We were there for about 30 mins. and ran into some MOMS Club friends. We were all treated to a puppet show put on by Madelyn and her friend Caitlin. It was great until Caitlin bopped her younger brother on the head. I think I saw Abby nod sympathetically as if to say, "I know how it is man..."


The best part about today: We made our own Shamrock Shakes and yum, yum. Just like the original...but better because we could make it lowfat with skim milk and light ice cream. What a bonus! I finally got my fix. This will be my final comment on the Shamrock Shake.

Sometimes we do too much!

Well today anyway, we did too many things. Both girls went up for naps without much lunch. (Madelyn has since come down for a bit more lunch....but said "done, nap" so I am not sure if she will go back to sleep.) They were just sooo tired after a busy morning. It is AMAZING outside today so I am happy to have the extra time to play with them this afternoon if the naps are short.

We did have a fun morning though! MOMS Club meeting was today and we had an Abrakadoodle class (http://www.abrakadoodle.com/). It was so neat! In this innovative art class the little ones (20 months and older) take a close look at a famous masterpiece and re-create it on some basic level. Today we talked about pointellism and looked at the famous work by Georges Seurat, "A Sunday on La Grande."

Here is Madelyn and hermasterpiece, we call it "A Spotted Lizard on the Paper" or is it "A Lizard on the Spotted Paper"?:


Isn't it cute how they put a "frame" around it? They also display them around the room and the kids have an opportunity to talk about their work.

After the class and plenty of running around at the meeting, we had to rush off to our next event. I "lost" my keys and had everyone looking all over the place. I was starting to panic. Ooops, they were in my pocket underneath the carrier Abby was sleeping soundly in. How embarassing!

With keys and kids in hand we skipped the playground and went off to our neighborhood playgroup. We would normally skip playgroup if we had another activity but we went because it was Ella's playgroup birthday party. We were there only half an hour or 45 mins. but that was enough to get the party mode. There was playing, dancing, cupcakes (we skipped them though since there would be no hope of a decent lunch with a cupcake in the tummy!), juice and a goody bag of treats to take home! What a party!!

Abby is awake now and I think I heard little footsteps also from Madelyn. I guess it is just way to nice outside to waste time sleeping. I kind of agree! The afternoon should be pretty low key but the evening picks up again with me going to a focus group (try on make-up, get $50) and the neighborhood women's group meeting (drink wine, gossip)....thus the early blog!

The best part about today: With beautiful weather like this everything seems perfect!

Lil' Miss Particular

I guess I should not be surprised Madelyn has exacting standards. I have been known to like things a particular way. But when you are 2 years old it is sometimes difficult to communicate that certain way you want things done. Herein lies the problem. Daily we have tears because things are not just how she envisioned it. For example yesterday Madelyn had to have her lunch with the Big Bird blanket covering her legs. Her plate was useless and her lunch had to be on the placemat. The cheese could not be in the whole wheat tortilla, it had to be next to it.

Yikes! As one can imagine it is not always easy to understand how she wants things done, though her language is getting a lot better. It makes me wonder, am I becoming accustomed to her. If a stranger was witnessing our scene (by that I mean just lunch) would that person know what needed to be done?

Don't get me wrong. I am not turning into the pushover parent that gives in to her child's every whim. At least I hope not! It should be okay to allow her to have things the way she wants when it is harmless, right? I mean I don't care if she take bites of a wrap like a sandwich or eat the tortilla and cheese and meat separately. And if she wants to wear a shirt that does not exactly match the pants, what the heck? Well that is where my exacting standards and hers would collide. ha, ha.

Madelyn wants her sister to do things a certain way also. At just 6 1/2 months Abby is happy to oblige. Madelyn wants her to sit there....no, not there, here, okay, fine. Madelyn wants to hold a toy Abby is happily gnawing on, okay, fine. Madelyn wants her to stand or walk (she can't) but okay, fine, she will try. When Madelyn does not get her way, Abby just smiles and laughs. Is eh laughing because she loves everything Madelyn does or is she reveling in the fact that she does not always get her way. Will Abby have a certain way of doing things at some point? Who will win? I don't know but it's going to be interesting.

"I do it." is a very common phrase in this house these days. Sometimes it's "Mommy do it" but 95% of the time it's "I do it." She wants to put on her shoes (she does), tie her shoes (she does not!), pick out her clothes(she does), put on her shirt(she does, sort of), go down the stairs(she does---sometimes without supervision---eeek!!!), drink from a cup without a lid(she does), etc. What an independent little lady.

We are both learning the fine line of pleasing one another without giving in to each other completely. What a tug of war....I can only imagine when she is a teenager. Luckily tonight I don't have to worry about that.

The best part about today: Lots of playing outside today! (I never did get the chance to take any photos at the playground though I think I should gets points for at least bringing the camera.)

Shamrock Shake update

I received a response from McDonald's about my request for the Shamrock Shake (see below). Awww, they really do want to see me smile! :) No luck finding one yet here but my sister-in-law Deb reports they have them in IL! That is not fair, just because the McD's "Mothership" is in the Chicagoland they have them. Well maybe Raschelle did really forward my message on to my region and they will offer this special treat.

*******
Hello Jessica:
Thank you for taking the time to contact McDonald's. We appreciate your interest in our Shamrock Shake.

The Shamrock Shake is a "promotional" product offered for a limited time only. Since the decision to offer promotional products is made on a region by region basis, I have forwarded your comments to the McDonald's regional office in your area for their consideration in deciding if they will offer the Shamrock Shakes to their customers. Additionally, since the Shamrock Shake is a promotional product, I am unable to provide a list of locations that carry them.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact McDonald's and sharing your comments with us. Hopefully, the Shamrock Shake will be offered at your local McDonald's this year.

Raschelle
McDonald's Customer Response Center
ref#:4234846

Sleeping beauty and her Ebay champ mother

I am not going to jinx it but let's just say hypothetically that the blinds we ordered for Abby are working. Her rooms can be as dark as night when we close the new blinds and she seems to like that for sleeping. She took 2 good naps today in her dark-as-night bedroom. During the first nap this morning I had to go check her a couple times to make sure she was still breathing! She was asleep for about 2 hours, maybe a little over. WOW! WTG (way to go) Kevin for installing them, if that was the ticket then yippee. She did wake up as soon as Madelyn went down for her nap so they were on complete opposite schedules. But we can work on that....

In other fantastic news, I was an Ebay champ today and I won the Ralph Lauren smocked dress(es) I was hoping to get for Madelyn. I spent just three cents over what I had hoped to pay...and that included the shipping. I was all jittery the whole hour surrounding the end of the auction. Of course it ended when both girls were awake. I tried to bribe Madelyn away with a video but no, no, she wanted to be touching the computer. And Abby, well you know her.....Miss Grabby Hands and trying to get the keyboard in her mouth. Geez! Can't a woman get in to steal an Ebay deal? I was so stealth too. I had been "watching" this item all week but did not bid until the last 5 minutes. They never saw me coming!!! The two "pros" I was up against each had won items in the hundreds but I wanted it more. Or maybe I just had the right timing. I bet they did not have four extra little hands trying to get in on the action. What a superstar! I am not normally such a Ebay fanatic. I wanted to win so badly because last week I got the coordinating dress for Abby for a steal! I had to pay more for Madelyn's because it was 2 dresses that are similar but that is okay. They are so adorable and I will be sure to get some good photos so it will be worth it!!!

After all the Ebay excitement we went outside to burn off our extra energy and enjoy the gorgeous day! I heard it is supposed to be in the 70s tomorrow? Hot dog (to quote Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)! If all goes well we will make it to the super playground tomorrow. If I can juggle the two kids and the camera, I will be sure to take photos.

The best part about today: The first ever "family reading time"---picture the four of us in Madelyn's bed reading before bedtime. That was so fancy (we read Fancy Nancy tonight!)

Super Saturday

The day began and will end with two of my favorite "hobbies." It must be my special day.

Today started out early when I got up and out of the house before 7:30 a.m. in order to get to my favorite children's consignment sale. A local Mothers of Multiples Club has an enormous nearly new sale twice a year. I usually find some good bargains on clothes and toys. Today was no different. I bought some really sweet outfits for both girls (all under $5 each!!!!) and some fun toys for Madelyn (Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head for $2, a little backpack ["ack-kak" as she calls it] for .50 and a camping chair for $1.50) I love a good bargain! I can't get into to yard sale shopping but this kind of sale is just right.

This afternoon we went to Arlington to visit some friends we have not seen in a while. It really is so hard because of the (lack of?) schedules we never seem to have a good window to make it there, visit and get back. But today was beautiful and we all had a great time. We even went to a fantastic neighborhood park during Madelyn's normal nap time. She does not know what the world looks like at 2pm! Ha! It was a great park though we did have a small incident that has left a little red mark on her cheek. Whoopsie-daisy!

Us girls took a little rest on the ride back but that was all the napping anyone had today! So, the little girls are in bed already (an hour early!) They are tired and so are we. We figure with the time change tomorrow it will help with the transition. Though if they get up extra early we are all in trouble. I guess we will be off to early church tomorrow morning.

Right now I am off to my other favorite hobby---scrapping! Off I go to be creative. I have just started Abigail's book so that is really fun!

The best part about today: The thrill of finding some good bargains, even though the lines were terribly long.

Is Elmo's time up?

I had a night out with the girls last night so no blog yesterday. As soon as bedtime was under control I was out the door! We had a great time and stayed up much too late chatting. But I am back to blog tonight as the little girls drift off into their slumber.... Going out with just a tiny purse and no one to strap into a carseat was definitely the best part about yesterday. Though if I got in after midnight, maybe that should be counted as the best part about today? HA!

Today I am really wondering, is Elmo on his way out? Hmmmm. I think we have found a replacement best friend---Thomas the Tank Engine! Oh boy, does a certain little girl looooove Thomas these days! Nana and Pop just bought a super cool train table for their house and it came with tons of tracks, buildings and trains. Seriously, there was probably 100 trains in this box. Madelyn went nuts! So we had some extra "guests" for dinner tonight. She would not eat a thing (her fav. grilled cheese, french fries and peas with ketchup of course!) until we said Thomas really wanted her to eat her dinner. (She did after that.)


Watch out, Elmo! You have some competition....

I think I may have an entry for America's Funniest Home Videos. Sadly, at the expense of my younger daughter. But today I was taping Madelyn sing her ABC's (she's pretty good actually). Abby was sitting next to her and at one point tried to grab a piece of bread with jam Madelyn had in her hand (that is such an Abby move). So Madelyn looks at her, laughs and says, "no Abby." Then she kind of goes on with the song and stops and pushes Abby completely out of the frame. As if to say, "I'm the star, you are outta here!" No one was injured in the filming of this but it really made me (and Kevin when he saw it!) crack up. I could be a $10,000 winner! Oh gag, then we'd have to go on that show and endure all the really ridiculous humor in between clips and be totally embarrassed if America saw us on there. I might just keep it to show the girls' future prom dates or something. Bribery has to be better than $10,000 anyway.

The best part about today: Playing outside this afternoon, even though it was just for just a few minutes....it's almost Spring!

Sisterly love on a snow day

Have I mentioned we are ready to move on to Spring? Hello, Mother Nature?, no more snow please!!! Maryland had another snow day today. As in schools closed. Sadly the B& O Railroad Museum was also closed and we had a playgroup field trip planned for there today. How sad! Poor Madelyn woke up and said, "trains?" Oh honey! To distract her, and also help out the other playgroup mommies who were wondering what to do with the kids today, we decided to host playgroup here. So instead of trains we did the zoo (as in my house was a ZOO! with all these wound up 2-year-olds.) I had invited a couple other neighbors that do not usually come to playgroup. They each had 2 kids so that was 6 extra kids and 3 extra mommies added to the mix. At one point I caught Madelyn just sitting on a chair, chin in her hand, watching the chaos. It was pretty funny. You could barely see the floor at times because, as two year olds do, they have to dump every last toy out before they play and then quickly move on to something else.

We had two biters in the crowd also. Eek! Since Madelyn had been in school on Wednesdays we have not been at playgroup for a few weeks so we did not know we had a few in the biting stage. I will take Madelyn's pushing and hitting over the biting! Madelyn does have some mysterious teeth marks on her hand. I am not sure who did it. She isn't talking. It really does not matter anyway but I am just curious.

The playgroup is nice though. All neighborhood moms (and one dad but he was not here today) and the kids are all around 2---though there is the next generation, Abby's age, being born into the group. In the midst of some refereeing, I did manage to visit a little with my friends. I still don't think we ever finished a whole conversation. But that is the way every playdate is, I am getting used to it.

Miss Abigail took a wonderful afternoon nap today. She of course had a very brief, almost nonexistent, morning nap because she had to be part of all the fun in the basement. Who could sleep at a time like that? The funny thing is she likes to sleep on her tummy most of time and she often sleeps with her head resting on her hands. So she wakes up with her handprint on her forehead. Check this out, can you see her little hand outlined? Yeah, I love the tongue out too! She is so silly!

If you didn't know what it was looking at this photos you might call CPS thinking she was harmed. But it went away a few minutes later.

Madelyn is really into holding Abby these days. She always says "hold it!"....meaning I want to hold her. We are working on getting her to say "hold her." But she can be really sweet with her and Abigail just cracks up at ANY attention she receives from Madelyn...she especially finds it amusing when Madelyn sits on her lap! Here is a cute moment today when Madelyn was "holding it:"

The best part about today: Witnessing the sisterly love as seen above.

Princess in Pigtails and Her Royal Baldness

I have said it before and I will say it again: sometimes having kids is just plain fun because of the toys! I myself still really enjoy a little play kitchen time. I mean really, I have a real kitchen. But for some reason all the kitchen stuff in miniature is much more fun. Madelyn is also starting to pretend play so that makes play kitchen, dress up, etc. that much more fun. We went to IKEA over the weekend and found some pots and pans. Madelyn just adores playing with them in her kitchen. Here is my personal chef:

She was so funny. Mixing things up and serving them to the two Elmos seated at the table. She was spooning sauce over the grapes and french fries and whatever else was on their plates. Too cute! I asked if she would share with Abby and she said, "No, big girl" We are always telling her not to share food since, as a baby, there are so few things Abigail can eat right now. So I guess that applies even to play food in Madelyn's mind.

What do you think of Madelyn's pigtails? I really need to get better at fixing her hair quickly and painlessly. You can't see it but the part in the back is all zig-zag and not in a cool zig-zag way but in a messy, crazy way. She liked her "piggytails" though I did kind of pull a little hard because her hair is so fine. But as you can see she is quite proud of them. It looks like it will be a while before Abby is ready for "piggytails"! Her hair is exactly like Madelyn's was at 6 months....fairly nonexistent! But she does have ONE really long hair right in the middle of her head. Only her mother or someone really looking for it would notice. It is sweet but hardly ready to hold a whole bow. Not even I have tried.

I am going to try to go to bed early tonight. I was up late last night watching an auction on Ebay. I won though so it was worth it! I found the cutest dresses for the girls for Easter. Last night I go the one for Abigail...the auction for Madelyn's does not end until Monday. The lady would not sell it to me outright. Dang! I hope I get it because they will be so precious in these coordinating smocked dresses. It sure beats the smocked dresses I was eyeing at Pied Piper (only $90 each!) Eeek!

The best part about today: There was an overlap in afternoon naptimes so I had time to clean, make dinner and catch up with friends.

Bring back the Shamrock Shake!

I am starting to *worry* that Madelyn and Abby will never get to experience the Shamrock Shake. Mmmmm.....the green, frosty creation that is a limited time offer at McDonald's around St. Patrick's Day. I hope you have had the pleasure of having one in your lifetime. My brother and I have long loved these treats and seriously (sadly!?) look forward to this time of year for this reason. We have both been known to buy extras and place them in the freezer for another time. I don't know about Jason but this is the only time of year I ever get a milkshake from McDonald's. Well it seems he and I may be in the minority because it is really hard to find the Shamrock Shake these days. This is a tradition I want to pass on to my children and (sniff!) it looks like I may not be able to.

Over the weekend we went to three different McD's (thank God we did not eat there all three times...though Madelyn say "cheeseburger?" each time she saw the Golden Arches.) No Shamrock Shakes! The employees were not even very nice about it. Geez! So I told Kevin I was going to create a website to help people find out where (if anywhere) one could find a Shamrock Shake. Turns out there are other people who miss it and have already started campaigns. Check this out: http://www.tiktok.org/shamrock/. Oh yes, I have sent my letter to McD's. (No word back yet!) Apparently they are only sold now in Ireland and select American McD's. It makes me really wonder if the Irish fully appreciate it. Poor Uncle O'Grimacey, looks like he has been phased out too.

Sorry Madelyn and Abby and all the others in the next generation....looks like this might be a treat you will only have to read about.

The best part about today: We had a fun playdate with some of our neighbors. Madelyn got to play "pirate" (her new favorite thing because the neighborhood boys are so into it) and Abby was in heaven watching all the commotion.

TGIF

Abby had her 6-month check-up today. She had to get 5 vaccines: 4 shots (ouch!) in her chubby little legs and one syrupy vaccine by mouth. With the oral vaccine, the nurse said, she had never had a baby actually grab her hands as she was administering it and try to get more in. I guess it tasted good. Abby is so funny though--a very oral child in the sense that she is always sticking something in her mouth. Even in many of her pictures from the day she was born, her hands or something is in her mouth when she's happy, sad, hungry or excited. Often it is this one particula rubber duck that she just LOVES. In fact when the doctor came in to the room this morning Abby was sucking on the duck's bill and when we took it away for a moment she burst into tears. The she completely quieted down when the duck was returned. Have I said this before? But Abigail is going to be my kid who swallows pennies. Madelyn would pick the tiniest thing off the floor and hand it to me (even at a very young age) and Abby seems like the type that will taste it. her doctor says maybe she will be a wine connoisseur or something. HA! She did well though. Still 90th percentile for length (27 inches) and has slipped to just below 50th percentile for weight (15lbs. 1 oz.) She passed all the "tests" for development so yay, Abby!

During the "break" (i.e. nap time) I went out on a reconnaissance mission for a new swing set. That does not even do it justice. The things I saw were far from swing sets they were play systems. AMAZING! Even at 31 years old, I was thinking I could stay and play here all day. It was a smart idea not to bring the kids this first time. We would still be there. We are considering upgrading our outdoor equipment and I knew this was the top of the line but I want to check it out for myself. I was surprised to hear prices start at around $3,000 for a really cool but still fairly simple set. Yikes! We'll see what the budget committee says. We showed the catalogue and video to Madelyn and of course she is sold. We also have the two yard backyard with the extreme hill so I am not sure what kind of play system our yard can really hold. But the idea of playing in the back and not having to schlep to the playground sounds so appealing. $3,000+ appealing? I don't know. But some rainy day we will have to take Madelyn there just to play!

The best part about today: Playing in the afternoon with the neighbors. Madelyn played "pirate" with the big kids and it was too precious.

She's a 'owboy

Madelyn, the 'owboy (meaning cowboy or cowgirl), looking for her horse....

Living with a 2-year-old

Today was not all sunshine and roses as yesterday was but we had some funny moments. For example, today I was changing Abby's diaper and my dutiful assistant (Madelyn) was on hand with a clean diaper and wipes. As soon as I unfastened the sides of the dirty diaper Madelyn exclaimed, "Oh boy! Eeeeewwww! Icky! Gross!" Not just once but over and over again. I am pretty sure when we change diapers in this house we are not that exuberant about how Eeewww, icky or gross it may be but we clean up the mess at hand as quickly as possible and move on. So I am not exactly sure the source of that but it is kind of funny.

A friend/neighbor from playgroup came over today while his mommy had her hair cut. Noah and Madelyn played quite well together. Noah held his ground as Madelyn literally raced around him in circles for the first five minutes. He just stood there. She zipped in front of him and zagged behind him, all the while he just stood there, frozen. Probably afraid to move. She was just so excited. It is so funny to listen to a conversation among 2-year-olds. Over lunch they went back and forth repeating whatever words came to mind. "Choo-choo, cat, no! yes!, cheese!, no, no! apple! grapes! no, no!", etc. Pretty funny stuff. I should have had the video camera rolling to capture the full effect. By the end of the two hours they were BOTH running around, laughing, screaming and having a great time. Abby loved it too. She was literally jumping out of the Jumperoo, flailing her arms, shouting gleefully, she was so excited to watch the big 2-year-olds racing around. I had not even given them any sugar for lunch, I swear. This was all natural energy. We tried to unwind before naptime with books but that quickly turned into a game also. Hopefully Noah had a good nap. Madelyn sure did! Abby did okay too actually.

This afternoon I was trying to get some photos of the girls together. This should be such a fun thing to do. It's not. It is so rare to get a good shot of both of them. I might have to just say it in photos. This is what (who?) went down:

I mean really! Poor Abigail. She takes this rough and tumble behavior so well. Thankfully Madelyn has never been so forceful as to really hurt her. But EVERY time I set them up for this shot it was this exact scene. Yikes! Abby is going to be one tough cookie that is for sure. This is why I cannot leave them alone for even a second.

But it's the start of a "three day weekend" in the Nelson household as tomorrow is Kevin's compressed day. So yay, hip-hip horray and yippee for that. Everyone is in bed (though it is not completely quiet up there yet) and it isn't even 8pm.

The best part about today: The boost of confidence after I actually handled three kids for a few hours and the house was still relatively clean and tidy.