Interesting Lawn Ornaments

Lawn ornaments I've seen around town...

I'm guessing this is in place of a watchdog.

In case you can't see, this is a "frog" with it's "tongue" extended

trying to eat a "bug" hanging in the tree.  Ya, you can't make this stuff up.

I'm 30!

Yesterday was my 30th birthday!

So long twenties...you were a fun decade.

Someone recently asked me how I felt about turning 30.

My response - "It feels like it's about time."

I spent a lot of my birthday caring for a sick and miserable 5 month old :-(

And that is what life is like as a 30 year old.

I'm the same...just with a few added responsibilities ;-)

Anna's First Bible Verse

"Nothing can separate us from God's love." Rom 8:39 (simplified)

Anna just recently moved up to the 2 1/2 - 4 year old class at church.  Each month they get a new Bible verse to memorize.  This is her first one since moving up to her new class.  She's pretty excited about it :-)

No, I'm not a Rock Star

I've wanted to do it since high school and finally took the plunge.  I'm turning 30 on Tuesday.  What better way to say "I'm still young and fun" than with hot pink hair!



Before

After

Reverse Psychology

...is AWESOME and my newest weapon as a mom.  I had no idea how well it would work on my 2 1/2 year old.  I was ridiculously blatant too!

(Actual conversation from the other day)
Mommy - What flavor yogurt do you want, Anna?  (I wanted Anna to eat a peach yogurt this morning, because she always asks for strawberry and I didn't want the peach to go to waste)
Anna - strawberry banana
Mommy - How about peach?
Anna - No, I can't like peach....strawberry banana
Mommy - Oh, well you can't have peach anyways.
Anna - (something to the effect of "what?")
Mommy - You aren't allowed to have peach.
Anna - I want peach. (said in an almost whiny tone)
Mommy - No, you can't have it.
Anna - I want peach, please.
Mommy - Ok, you can have peach. (smile)


Later in the day...

(Anna has two doll strollers and I folded one up and put it in the corner, because she really only needs it out when she has a friend over)

Anna - I want that one. (pointing to the one folded up in the corner)

Mommy - No, you don't need that one.  Go play with that one over there. (trying to redirect)

Anna - No, I want THAT one.

Mommy - You're not allowed to play with that one over there. (pointing to the one I want her to play with)

Anna - (immediately responds) I want to play with that one. (pointing to the one I want her to play with)

Mommy - No, you're not allowed.
Anna - Please, Mommy.  I want to play with that one. (again pointing to the one I want her to play with)

Mommy - Ok, you can play with it.

Anna - Thank you! (happily runs over to play with the stroller)



Can you guess how I got her to stand here for this picture??



Twins - 2 Years Apart

To say my girls look similar is an understatement.  I'm looking forward to seeing how they grow and develop and look and act different :-)  You can see more examples HERE.

Playground

Spontaneous Playground Outing = Happy 2 Year Old

A Must Read

What a beautiful story.  I let my bowl of ice cream melt last night, because I couldn't imagine eating it and taking in this experience at the same time.  Make sure you have tissues handy...

Nella's Birth Story

And here's an update.

I Heart Garage Saling

I wish I could go garage saling every day of the week.  Recently when I was in OH I went to a community garage sale on a Friday night.  I was in heaven!  I can't think of anything better to do on a Friday night!

Luckily, my husband enjoys garage saling too!  (I know...he's amazing.)  So the last couple Saturday mornings we've headed out after the kids wake up.  (It's not like we're missing out on sleeping in - sad face)

I've been using the iGarage Sale App on my phone and it is super fun!  (I have the Lite FREE version right now, but will probably splurge and get the full version soon) It's like Geocaching and Garage Saling all in one...which if you haven't Geocached before - you should!  It's like a treasure hunt...and who doesn't like a good treasure hunt?!

Mommy and Anna Garage Saling - she did NOT get to take that bear home

I wish I had taken a picture of everything we got on Saturday :-(  I'll have to do that next time.  Here's the list:

1 shirt for Mommy - .50
2 black 8x10 picture frames - $2
1 plastic but looks like glass pitcher - $1
1 socket extender (Steve's purchase) - .25
1 electric edger (needs blade and new front wheel) - FREE
1 car buffer - FREE
1 small group bible study book on James - FREE
3 decks of playing cards - FREE
1 cork board (that I can recover at some point and make cute) - FREE

Grand Total - $3.75 and hours of family entertainment

Anna now knows how to point garage sales out to us...it's cute :-)  Garage saling for Anna means she gets to play with other people's toys and she gets to eat lots of snacks in the car = a very fun activity for our 2 year old.

BTW - spellcheck does not like the word "saling."  What's up with that, spellcheck?

Having the House to Yourself

What I do when I have the house to myself:

sit and enjoy the silence for as long as I want
use the bathroom without an audience
eat a snack without having to share
make a Frappe (in my amazing Frappe Maker) without waking the kids up from a deep sleep
watch something on tv that is NOT Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
play on my iPhone without being asked to play with Talking Tom
walk into the other room without a shadow
walk into the other room without being asked "Where you going, Mommy?"
holding an object without being asked "what's that?" whether it's easily identifiable or not
going 5 minutes without having to clean up spit up
going 10 minutes without having to change my clothes because of spit up
did I mention sit and enjoy the silence?
relax and let someone else stress over the life of my child for a few minutes
miss these guys for about 2 seconds and then sit and enjoy the silence again

What would you add to the list?

Potty Training is Torture

I wanted to say something about potty training being like a living Hell, but thought that was a little too strong.  So let's just say "Potty training is something I WOULD wish on my worst enemy...because it sucks!"

We have been "potty training" for over 2 1/2 months with Anna.  She is "trained" but is the most stubborn little thing that does NOT like being told what to do.  Unfortunately, she got those wonderful characteristics from me :-) 

I will not bore you (more like torture you) with all the details.  Let's just say that I am DUN with a capital D-U-N.  The child has been wearing diapers off and on for the last several days...and we've found out that pretty much the only thing she won't pee in is...diapers! When will the torture end?!  Poor Ellie will be going to kindergarten in diapers, unless someone volunteers to potty train her.  Because I am not doing this again.  And you think I'm kidding :-)

How can this cute little thing evoke such strong horrible emotions from me?!

Found this online tonight and thought I'd share.  I'm thinking it is totally worth it!  Now who wants to fund it for us?!

http://pottytrainingservices.com/  - "Let us take a load off your mind"