Dr. Brown and Dr. Olson
Synnove, checking me in as a patient.
Giving Jena and Grace a ride
Monday, February 22, 2010
P is for Port of Play
Last Friday, Synnove's preschool went on a little field trip to Port of Play for "P" week at the Gray School in Astoria. I had heard about it before, but I had never been. I was surprised to find how fun it could be! There's a dress-up/role-play area with a boat, fire station, doctor's office, and Fort Clatsop. There's also an art area, and the gym is reserved for bikes and large motor play. We'll definitely be going again soon!
Synnove, checking me in as a patient.
Giving Jena and Grace a ride
Synnove, checking me in as a patient.Giving Jena and Grace a ride
Friday, February 19, 2010
Making Valentines and Valentine Dance
In an effort to be crafty with the kids, I decided we would make Valentine cards. It took most of the morning to prep them (cut out hearts, and print out photos), but it was worth it. They decided to make Valentines for the people they were going to see on the eve of the Valentine dance (the 12th). Soren was going over to Grandma and Grandpa's because I had a Mary Kay party to attend, and Synnove was, of course, going to the dance. So, she made Valentines for Adam, Uncle Don, and Heidi. I made sure to print out pictures of them with all the people they were making the cards for. It was a bit of a mess that took several hours, but it was worth it.
At the Pig 'n Pancake...just like last year.
Ever since Synnove had the slightest inclination that Valentine's Day was coming up, she couldn't stop talking about it. As soon as Christmas was over, she knew. Although, I had to down-play it a bit because I knew that Adam had a business trip right around Valentine's Day, and I didn't know for sure if he was going to be able to take her. Plus, Heidi wasn't going to be able to go because of a dance competition. Anyway, Adam found the information and saw that it was going to be on Saturday the 13th. Even though he was going to be leaving on the red-eye THAT night, he still wanted to take her. So, I signed them up.
A couple of weeks later, I finally got the flyer in the mail. I was surprised to be getting it so late, seeing as this is a very popular dance, and usually fills up by January. I didn't even bother to read the flyer, and set it aside. The next day, I got a call from Alice asking what session we had signed up for. I was like..."the gal only gave me one time." Then, I looked at the flyer. They were planning 2 sessions for Friday night! Gee...thanks for telling me! Anyway, because it was on Friday, Don and Heidi were going to be able to go! So, we signed up for the earlier session together.
I picked up Synnove's corsage on Friday while she was in preschool. Adam wasn't going to be able to make it to pick her up in time for the dance, so Don and Heidi planned to pick her up and meet Adam there later. At the last minute, Adam was able to race home to pick her up! It was so cute. She didn't know about the corsage. Just before they were to leave Synnove pipes up and says "wait...I need my little flower wrist thingy!" We fibbed her a bit to make her think that we didn't get one. Then, Adam pulled it out to surprise her. She was very excited, and off they went! Of course, Synnove had her Valentines to give to Daddy, Uncle Don, and Fi Fi.
At the Pig 'n Pancake...just like last year.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Synnove...Will You Be My Valentine?
As Adam and I helped Synnove get her Valentine's Day cards ready for her preschool party last week, Adam says something like..."some little boy is gonna save one of these little cards for a long time." And I said something like..."nah, I doubt it."
The next day, as all the parents were gathering their kids up to leave preschool, Joshua's mom (Heidi) asks if Synnove could stand by him for a picture. Then Heidi told me a little story about Josh and how he didn't want his mom or his grandma to be his Valentine...only, you guessed it, Synnove! Unbelievable! I guess little Joshua talks about Synnove quite often at home. *big sigh* Too cute.
The next day, as all the parents were gathering their kids up to leave preschool, Joshua's mom (Heidi) asks if Synnove could stand by him for a picture. Then Heidi told me a little story about Josh and how he didn't want his mom or his grandma to be his Valentine...only, you guessed it, Synnove! Unbelievable! I guess little Joshua talks about Synnove quite often at home. *big sigh* Too cute.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Day Just Didn't Start Off Right
Sickness is lurking in the house. Both the kids are stuffy and coughing and the bug has finally bitten me. I haven't been sleeping well since Adam left for Georgia on Saturday night, and I think my immune system has suffered. Anyway, I awoke, as usual, to the kids at 7 AM sharp begging for food. There is no food in the house. I have some cereal and milk, a half a loaf of bread, and a handful of past due clementines. I was feeling quite awful. I didn't fall asleep till around 3 AM, I had a splitting headache, my nose was stuffy, and my throat had a small fire in it. I gave the kids some cereal and headed back to bed.
I did not want to get out of bed. Synnove has had a ravenous appetite lately, and kept coming in to ask for more food. Usually, there is some granola bars or crackers or SOMEthing that the kids can get themselves to eat...but like I said before, the cupboards are empty. I allow her some fruit snacks. A bit later she comes in again begging for food. She eats what's left of the clementines. I'm tapped out. I need to make the trip to Longview to go to Winco, but the car is not sounding so good. I wish I had a better car...I'm really wishing that today. I'm wishing HARD. I'm wishing $10,000 will fall down from heaven. I wish I would have won that beautiful white Camry at the fair last year! *sigh*....I digress. By now it's 10:30 and I finally decide that I can no longer stay in my bed. I know...I'm a terrible and neglectful mother.
My head is aching pretty badly. I make some eggs so that I don't have to take medicine on an empty stomach. Synnove devours half of them and asks for more. It's almost lunch...she'll have to wait.
I head downstairs to get some clothes for Soren. I check out Synnove's room first...still a mess after her so-called cleaning yesterday. I hate a dirty room....but I guess the time is coming that I just have to let it go. It's her responsibility now. I can nit-pick till I'm hoarse, or I can accept that her version of clean is not mine. ANYway, back to Soren's room. I walk in to find the entire contents of his closet on the floor. In a somewhat ticked, yet exhausted voice, I ask Synnove..."what happened here?" Synnove replies, before even entering his room, "Soren did it." Oh really? Right. Anyway, I call down Soren who is 99% honest 99% of the time and ask him what happened. He says, "I didn't do it, Synnove did." Then, the blame game continues for a minute or two. I've caught Synnove lying quite a few times in the past several months, and it's so disappointing and frustrating. I'm trying not to sound too angry (not really working), and ask Synnove SEVERAL times not to lie to me and to tell me if she did it or not. She eventually says "Soren and I did it." Oh really? Right. Either way, Synnove lied, so she had to get punished. I won't go into detail...but disciplining Synnove always ends worse than it begins. And that is always more frustrating than the original offense.
I'm just too tired and in too much pain to try to get the kids to participate in cleaning up the mess, so I clean it up myself. Under the mountain of clothes I find one of Soren's favorite Christmas gifts crushed. That only adds to my building emotion. What next?
When the closet is finally clean, I calmly call the kids down to complete some simple clean-up tasks. I find that Soren has put on plastic underwear (he's been wearing them over a diaper at night lately) inside out (plastic side to the skin) under his pull-up. Uhh...ok? Goodness. So, I tell him to take them off and put only his pull-up on. This is something he is quite capable of doing, so I go into the other room to do a bit of clean-up. Not even a minute later, Soren comes up to me and says "I peed." I say "what do you mean, you peed?" He says, "I'm sorry mommy." I say, "what do you mean you peed??" He goes in and points to his closet. Let me just tell you that his closet doesn't go to the floor...the bottom of it hits my thigh...so it's kind of high up. ANYway, I say "you peed in your pants? or you peed somewhere else?" He says "I'm sorry." and points to the inside of the closet. There is pee all over the inside of his closet, on some of his clothes, and some of his stuffed animals. I cracked. I was done.
I could not help myself. Soren was covered in pee because his plastic pants were inside out, yet there was a huge puddle in the closet. How on earth did this happen? I angrily send him upstairs to the tub. I'm already frustrated with Soren, as he has been peeing his pants several times a day, every day for the last month. I'm wanting to scream. Instead, I sob. I sob hard.
When I'm done with my little breakdown, I decide to write a blog about it (this blog). The kids are upstairs watching a movie. I'm almost finished when I hear them venture downstairs. I go into the bathroom to see what they are doing. Soren is naked, and Synnove has no pants on. Both of them have just gone to the bathroom and I notice that the training potty is smeared with poop and they are attempting to wipe Soren's bum. POOP! Back to the tub they both went. While in the tub I notice that Synnove's leg has a bunch of black marks all over it. I ask her if it's marker. She says "no." I try to wipe it off thinking it's dirt, or heaven forbid, poop! It doesn't wipe off, and I say..."what is this?" Synnove replies sheepishly..."marker." Lie #2 for the day. My kids are on a roll.
The day has only just begun. It's Winco or bust....busted car, busted head, busted bottoms!! I'm praying it's not "bust."
I did not want to get out of bed. Synnove has had a ravenous appetite lately, and kept coming in to ask for more food. Usually, there is some granola bars or crackers or SOMEthing that the kids can get themselves to eat...but like I said before, the cupboards are empty. I allow her some fruit snacks. A bit later she comes in again begging for food. She eats what's left of the clementines. I'm tapped out. I need to make the trip to Longview to go to Winco, but the car is not sounding so good. I wish I had a better car...I'm really wishing that today. I'm wishing HARD. I'm wishing $10,000 will fall down from heaven. I wish I would have won that beautiful white Camry at the fair last year! *sigh*....I digress. By now it's 10:30 and I finally decide that I can no longer stay in my bed. I know...I'm a terrible and neglectful mother.
My head is aching pretty badly. I make some eggs so that I don't have to take medicine on an empty stomach. Synnove devours half of them and asks for more. It's almost lunch...she'll have to wait.
I head downstairs to get some clothes for Soren. I check out Synnove's room first...still a mess after her so-called cleaning yesterday. I hate a dirty room....but I guess the time is coming that I just have to let it go. It's her responsibility now. I can nit-pick till I'm hoarse, or I can accept that her version of clean is not mine. ANYway, back to Soren's room. I walk in to find the entire contents of his closet on the floor. In a somewhat ticked, yet exhausted voice, I ask Synnove..."what happened here?" Synnove replies, before even entering his room, "Soren did it." Oh really? Right. Anyway, I call down Soren who is 99% honest 99% of the time and ask him what happened. He says, "I didn't do it, Synnove did." Then, the blame game continues for a minute or two. I've caught Synnove lying quite a few times in the past several months, and it's so disappointing and frustrating. I'm trying not to sound too angry (not really working), and ask Synnove SEVERAL times not to lie to me and to tell me if she did it or not. She eventually says "Soren and I did it." Oh really? Right. Either way, Synnove lied, so she had to get punished. I won't go into detail...but disciplining Synnove always ends worse than it begins. And that is always more frustrating than the original offense.
I'm just too tired and in too much pain to try to get the kids to participate in cleaning up the mess, so I clean it up myself. Under the mountain of clothes I find one of Soren's favorite Christmas gifts crushed. That only adds to my building emotion. What next?
When the closet is finally clean, I calmly call the kids down to complete some simple clean-up tasks. I find that Soren has put on plastic underwear (he's been wearing them over a diaper at night lately) inside out (plastic side to the skin) under his pull-up. Uhh...ok? Goodness. So, I tell him to take them off and put only his pull-up on. This is something he is quite capable of doing, so I go into the other room to do a bit of clean-up. Not even a minute later, Soren comes up to me and says "I peed." I say "what do you mean, you peed?" He says, "I'm sorry mommy." I say, "what do you mean you peed??" He goes in and points to his closet. Let me just tell you that his closet doesn't go to the floor...the bottom of it hits my thigh...so it's kind of high up. ANYway, I say "you peed in your pants? or you peed somewhere else?" He says "I'm sorry." and points to the inside of the closet. There is pee all over the inside of his closet, on some of his clothes, and some of his stuffed animals. I cracked. I was done.
I could not help myself. Soren was covered in pee because his plastic pants were inside out, yet there was a huge puddle in the closet. How on earth did this happen? I angrily send him upstairs to the tub. I'm already frustrated with Soren, as he has been peeing his pants several times a day, every day for the last month. I'm wanting to scream. Instead, I sob. I sob hard.
When I'm done with my little breakdown, I decide to write a blog about it (this blog). The kids are upstairs watching a movie. I'm almost finished when I hear them venture downstairs. I go into the bathroom to see what they are doing. Soren is naked, and Synnove has no pants on. Both of them have just gone to the bathroom and I notice that the training potty is smeared with poop and they are attempting to wipe Soren's bum. POOP! Back to the tub they both went. While in the tub I notice that Synnove's leg has a bunch of black marks all over it. I ask her if it's marker. She says "no." I try to wipe it off thinking it's dirt, or heaven forbid, poop! It doesn't wipe off, and I say..."what is this?" Synnove replies sheepishly..."marker." Lie #2 for the day. My kids are on a roll.
The day has only just begun. It's Winco or bust....busted car, busted head, busted bottoms!! I'm praying it's not "bust."
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
5 Already??
I know it's a little late, but I've finally found some time to blog about Synnove's 5th birthday. Of course, she's been excited to turn 5 ever since she turned 4, and has been talking about her next birthday theme for an entire year. She's very much into Hello Kitty and all the Disney princesses (Snow White especially). We decided to use the birthday princess/fairy topper from my 5th birthday and make it a princess party. She had picked out a crown while doing some Christmas shopping a while back, and has been saving it in a safe place for wearing at her birthday party. It's very fun to throw a party for a very excited little girl!
Her actual birthday (the 27th) fell on a Wednesday, and she had preschool that day. She woke up bright and early ready to put on her birthday attire. She wanted to wear the Hello Kitty dress/outfit that she got for Christmas from Grandma Patty, but I told her that was reserved for her party. She was a bit disappointed until I told her she could open her present from Mommy and Daddy. I had scored a killer outfit (also Hello Kitty) with a matching doll! I was so excited to give it to her. Of course, she loved it, and wore it to preschool that day.
I was snack helper for her birthday and we had cupcakes. She was happy to be the star for the day. The kids all signed and helped decorate a card for her.
We had her actual party on Sunday. Jeremy and Jessica and their two kids came for the weekend (like they did last year), so that made for an extra special time for all of us. Jessica and I worked till late Saturday making the cake and getting the house ready. Jessica did a wonderful job decorating the cake! Thanks Jessica!
The party was a PACKED house! Synnove was showered with an overwhelming amount of stuff! Princesses, dolls, makeup, My Little Ponies, clothes, and Hello Kitty were reoccurring gift themes. All the guests knew our little princess well!
Synnove and her "best friend" Jailey
I couldn't get this pic to load properly...but it's soooo cute! Halle, Michael, and Tay. They were so patient during gift time...trying their hardest not to dig in and help.
The cake was super yummy!
Here's Synnove after her party: Her face is covered in REAL makeup (courtesy of Aunt Alice and Fi Fi), she has on her Tinkerbell jammies on (courtesy of Aunt Faith), her new restored mini hutch in the background (courtesy of Grandma Patty) that is now FULL of various gifts. She even got two more Hello Kitty water bottles to add to the one she already had (and she carries all 3 all over the house)! Can we say "spoiled??"
Her actual birthday (the 27th) fell on a Wednesday, and she had preschool that day. She woke up bright and early ready to put on her birthday attire. She wanted to wear the Hello Kitty dress/outfit that she got for Christmas from Grandma Patty, but I told her that was reserved for her party. She was a bit disappointed until I told her she could open her present from Mommy and Daddy. I had scored a killer outfit (also Hello Kitty) with a matching doll! I was so excited to give it to her. Of course, she loved it, and wore it to preschool that day.
I was snack helper for her birthday and we had cupcakes. She was happy to be the star for the day. The kids all signed and helped decorate a card for her.
We had her actual party on Sunday. Jeremy and Jessica and their two kids came for the weekend (like they did last year), so that made for an extra special time for all of us. Jessica and I worked till late Saturday making the cake and getting the house ready. Jessica did a wonderful job decorating the cake! Thanks Jessica!
The party was a PACKED house! Synnove was showered with an overwhelming amount of stuff! Princesses, dolls, makeup, My Little Ponies, clothes, and Hello Kitty were reoccurring gift themes. All the guests knew our little princess well!
I had to take this pic because everyone was matching! Fuchsia and black!
Synnove and her "best friend" Jailey
I couldn't get this pic to load properly...but it's soooo cute! Halle, Michael, and Tay. They were so patient during gift time...trying their hardest not to dig in and help.
The cake was super yummy!
Here's Synnove after her party: Her face is covered in REAL makeup (courtesy of Aunt Alice and Fi Fi), she has on her Tinkerbell jammies on (courtesy of Aunt Faith), her new restored mini hutch in the background (courtesy of Grandma Patty) that is now FULL of various gifts. She even got two more Hello Kitty water bottles to add to the one she already had (and she carries all 3 all over the house)! Can we say "spoiled??"
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