A picture post

My husband took pictures of us playing outside yesterday, so I thought I'd use those to cheat on my blog post today (lol!)

L playing with the solar lights at the end of the driveway (while clutching Naveen and Rapunzel)

E running across the driveway

L (with Rapunzel)

E watching something in our front yard

Our pink oleander bush.  It's so beautiful right now in bloom!

Sugar, or Why I'm A Bad Mommy (apparently)

This post is brought to you by a thread on my baby board for E, where people (women, mostly) post questions and comments about various things child and life related.  This particular thread was called something like "Why Does Everyone Give My Child Sugar?"  The poster basically was saying that at every family gathering she goes to, someone always offers her son (16 months old) a cookie, candy, or something else that has sugar in it and that she gets so upset by it.  Apparently, a 16 month old baby will either choke, go crazy, get super hyper, get ADHD, or even have poor health for the rest of his/her life because of that one sugared goody.  I was amazed to read the comments attached to the thread where everyone was agreeing with the original poster.  Are you KIDDING me? 

First off, this woman is one of those people that I absolutely abhor.  For some reason, when you offer a child something that you enjoy and think the child would enjoy (let's say, a cookie), you are A) insulting the parents, B) overstepping your boundaries and trying to "parent" the child, C) offering the child POISON POISON POISON!, and D) another multitude of things that deserve a lecture and offending insults for the horrible behavior you just tried to commit what were you thinking?  These people come off as snobbish, hoity-toity, incredibly overprotective, helicoptering, and as people that you wouldn't want to spend more than two seconds with in any situation.  Have they not looked at the situation from someone else's eyes?  You see a child you like, you have something that you enjoy and think they might too, so you offer some to the child.  HOW does this end up deserving of the backlash these people give?!??

If you are a person that has chosen not to give sugar to your child (whether at all or on a regular basis), that's completely your choice.  Natural sugars, like those found in fruits, are probably best anyway.  It's a parenting choice you have made with your partner and that's fine.  However, the caveat here is how you react to other people who do not follow the same practice.  Please please PLEASE be polite when turning down a sugary treat for your child.  People don't do it to insult you or overstep their bounds into your parenting - they do it because they like your child and want to make your child happy.  Sometimes a food treat is the way to do it, they think.  There is also no need to lecture people on the harmful nature of sugar in general, how it causes hyperactivity (which has actually been shown, in countless studies, to be perceived and not actually happening), and how they are poisoning their own offspring by allowing them to imbibe in the horrible fruit of the cane.  Just a nice "no thank you" would do.  That's it.  The crazy people on my baby board really chill and have a lollipop.

My children get sweets every now and then, but it's not like it's a normal part of their day.  Yes, I give my children juice at lunch time (GASP!), and yes, I don't mind giving them a sucker now and then for good behavior.  However, they are just as likely to jump up and down pleading for me to give them a banana, oyster crackers, or even plain white rice (if you can believe it) as they are for sugary treats.  To each their own, and let's respect that.  All us mommies need to learn how to just get along and pick our battles with others, not within ourselves.

He's home!

My husband came home last night!  I can't tell you how ridiculously excited I was when I heard the garage door opening at 10pm.  My first thought was "OMG YAY HE'S HERE!!!!"  Ran downstairs in my pajamas and let the dog out into the garage so she could whine/yell/bark/jump around like a crazy dog on him.  Then he greeted me (but with less enthusiasm than the dog gave him, lol), brought all his stuff in, unpacked, showered, talked about the trip, and we went to bed at 11pm.  SO LATE.  L decided to get up at 5:30am today so I'm completely dead, but I'm so happy the husband is home.  Actually, I'm happy he's home but not so happy that he will probably be gone again in two weeks.  That one is only Wednesday-Saturday, but still - it's RIGHT during the middle of my class finals at the college!  ARGH!  Why can't these people schedule business trips and meetings at more decent times for me?  Lol.  Oh well.  Today, we get the day together as a family.  The girls are super excited to have their daddy back as a playmate.  YAY!

Mother's Day for my mom

Here's what I spent last night doing for my mom's Mother's Day gift (and I found a really sweet deal for it on Living Social a few weeks ago via my hubby!):

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZNGrFi1aNWTxo

Car repairs

We inherited a 1998 minivan from my husband's grandparents two years ago.  It was fantastic timing - we needed a bigger car with L growing up, and we were trying to having another baby (which turned out to be E).  The car only had 38K on it (in 12 years!), was well taken care of, and just wasn't being used a ton.  We were so happy to get it!  I traded in my little Chevy Cavalier and that was that.

Well, I guess I should have thought about the fact that a 1998 vehicle would need quite a few things updated, repaired, and maintained versus a new vehicle.  We've had to get new wheels, new brakes, various updates to fluids and systems, and fixed a few physical issues it had too.  Today, we had to get new brake pads.  Every time I take the car in for work and look at the bill, I wonder if it would be worth it to get a new car instead of just repairing and maintaining an older vehicle.  Don't get me wrong, the minivan runs great, it really does.  I just wonder:  would a new vehicle need all this maintenance?  Obviously, it would need oil changes and fluid changes, but would it have as many leaks, breaks, and other issues I keep running into?  My husband would rather run this car into the ground (i.e. no new car until this one breaks permanently), but I just don't want it to do that sometime while I'm out with the girls.  I have no fear of that right now, but it's definitely a concern as time goes on.

I wish I knew more about cars in general, but at least I have a car place I can trust.  Still, pricey.

Our morning, in pictures!

L on the front step, sitting on her Dora book.  Also note:  that's my shirt from when I was little!

E waiting for me to turn on the water so she could wash her rock.  She got soaked, lol.

Me pulling E in the wagon while L pushes herself along on her trike.  She still doesn't get pedaling...

L getting ready to pull E in the wagon.

L pulling E around in the wagon.  E loves it!

Going back in the garage after a nice wagon walk.

Off balance...

I feel so off balance not having my husband around this week.  I realize it's only Tuesday, and he's technically only been gone for 48 hours, but it's weird.  The last time he went on a trip, he was gone 10 days.  However, the last time he went on a trip, I only had one mobile child!  E was still napping three times a day, just sitting up, and much easier to keep track of.  Now, I have both girls on the move, destroying the house bit by bit, and being needy needy needy all day long.  I can tell that they know something is off this week too, which would explain the extreme neediness.  I am really looking forward to my mother-in-law coming over this evening to watch them while I go to work.  It sounds terrible, but yay for freedom and time away from my daughters!  Let's also hope L is feeling better and E's cough doesn't get any worse than it is.  *frets*

My heart almost broke yesterday afternoon when I was talking to L.  Knowing that she wasn't feeling well, I asked her what would make her feel better.  She thought about it for a minute and then said "I want to snuggle with my daddy.  Daddy makes me feel better."  Of course she would choose the ONE THING I absolutely couldn't give her.  I felt SO. BAD. and told her she could snuggle with me all she wanted, and Daddy would snuggle her to pieces when he came back this weekend.  Poor kid!

Taking a deep breath and starting another day with the girls...

Ugh x2?

...and not only is the husband away this week, now L is sick and E is getting there.  PERFECT.  Is there any other crap the world wants to put on me this week while I have to tackle it all myself?!??  I mean, seriously???  AAAAAUUUGH!!!!!

Ugh...

It's 8:30am on a Sunday and my husband has left for the week.  He'll be back Friday night.  As much as I don't mind him going on business trips, I hate it when he leaves because I miss having him around.  I miss watching him play with the girls, having adult conversations, having his help around the house, and arguing with him (lol!).  At least it's not long, and at least he can call and we can video chat nightly.  Here's hoping the week goes by quickly, the girls behave, and that he is highly successful in whatever it is he has to do on his trip.

Baby clothes

My almost-16-month-old daughter cannot wear 12-18 month pants/shorts.  They fall right off her.  Instead, she still wears 9-12 month pants/shorts.  She actually still fits in 6-9 month stuff but it's all too short.  Tops?  Same thing - 9-12 fits perfect, 12-18 is too big.  I remember at this age, we had L in 18-24 month clothing because she was so FAT.  Deliciously chubby fat, it was so wonderful.  Now?  I have a skinny mini and, while I love it, I miss nibbling on chubby rolls to make my baby giggle.

However, even within the 12 month clothing that E wears, there is such a huge range of what a manufacturer considers 12 months.  There were 12-month pants that she wore when she was 4 months old because they fit, and there are 12-month pants that she still can't wear because they are MASSIVE.  However, they all say the same thing for height and weight!  How can they be so different?  The mind boggles.

I guess I'll have to go through E's closet soon and weed out stuff she's grown out of and things she won't ever wear.  Since L wore 12-month and 18-month clothing during the winter months, and E will be wearing them during the summer months due to her size, I'll have to do some shopping too.  Darn.  I was hoping that I'd just be able to reuse everything since I had two girls.  Oh well!

Busy but good

This morning was busy but good.  I hauled my butt out of bed at 5am so that I could get in a 6.2-mile run before the girls got up.  The run felt great - I actually ran the whole thing without walking or stopping (which I wasn't sure I could do right now), got carried away in a daydream (I mean, come on, what would YOU do with $156 million?!??) so the miles melted along, and finished one second slower than my time when I ran the 10K race in late January.  One second slower?  And I wasn't even trying?!??  Maybe I should sign up for another 10K this coming month...

When I got home, my husband had gotten up with the girls and they were happy, bubbly, and ready for breakfast.  I showered, came back down to help him out, and suggested we go get donuts for breakfast.  He was all for it!  L came along and we got a heck of a haul (the grocery store near us does a buy 1 dozen donuts on Fridays and get 6 free thing), came home, and gorged.  Mmmm, donuts.

Then, we took the rest of the registration paperwork for L's preschool back there to turn in.  My hubby hadn't seen the preschool yet so we got another tour.  L loved playing again and seeing the classroom, and hubby was impressed with everything he saw.  E loved playing with all the toys in the classroom too!

Finally, took L to storytime at the library and she got to see her friend Layla.  It's been awhile!  We actually cut out early so that we could get home to have lunch with Daddy, see him off to work (he left at 12pm for a half day), and then go down for a nap. 

All in all, I don't mind mornings that exhaust me like this when the girls are in such good moods.  Why can't my husband work like this all the time?!?  It's great to have productive family time.  :)

This post is brought to you today by...

...teething.  Teething SUCKS.  Crying, whining, poor sleeping, poor eating, green poop, temper tantrums, drooling, and crankiness?  Can all kiss my ass.  While I feel bad for E, I also don't have a ton of patience to deal with her crankiness/whining either.  TEETHING?  YOU CAN GO AWAY RIGHT NOW PLEASE!!!!!

Preschool - Third Time's the Charm!

Yesterday, we went to visit the third preschool on my list of places to see.  As a recap:  #1 was awesome but only offered full-day, all-week preschool (we want 1-2 times/week, half days).  #2 was okay but really run down and cramped feeling.  So, off to our third.  I had two more preschools on my list that I figured we'd hit up in the next few weeks, but after visiting this one?  We're not going to the others.  :D
The preschool is actually on a church campus, and not only is there a daycare/preschool, there's also a K-8 school.  There is a building solely for the daycare/preschool area!  There is a playground specifically for the little kids (the big kids have another one by their building)!  Above all, it felt like a well-oiled machine, with staff and teachers doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing and children having fun through it all.  We toured the 3-year-old classroom (bright!  open!  big!  so much to do!) and the playground, which you can access right from the back door of the room.  There's a concrete path around the edge of the fenced-in playground which the kids were using for racing their bikes, trikes, and wagons around on.  All the play equipment is under huge shades (a must for Arizona), and there's a big open grassy area for doing whatever you'd like.  There were about 12-13 kids in the classroom (max capacity is 13) and L just jumped right in to play with the kids.  She even tried bossing them around when it was time to line up and go inside (LOL!).  Everything just lined up with what we wanted to see in a preschool, L loved it, the pricing works for us, the schedule is perfect (two days a week in the mornings), it's close by (~3.5 miles), and it just felt right.  On top of all that, L and E's Uncle A went there as a kid too!  Lol.  I turned in the application and registration fee before we left, and we've got to go back later this week to turn in some more stuff they will need prior to preschool starting in August (vaccination records, emergency contacts, etc.).  L cried because we had to leave (of course), but was so excited when I penciled in "L's First Day of Preschool" on our calendar.  I read through the parent handbook later and all the philosophies of the school line up with what I envision for L and E's school experience.  Wahoo!

I can't believe she's getting so big, and she's so excited to go to school.  What a big girl we have on our hands!  Here's hoping she loves it when August comes around, and that school works out the way we hope it will.  :)

A big milestone!

L was potty trained in August of last year.  It took about a week to train her to do #1 in the potty, and about three weeks (and a 95% fruit diet) to get her to do #2 consistently there.  She's been day trained for a loooong time.  Overnight, though, we've kept her in Pampers Underjams.  She would wet herself when she was sick, but not really beyond that.  About a month ago, I decided to start leaving her in her regular big-girl underwear when she napped to see if she could handle it (three months ago, she couldn't).  She could!  So, last night, we took the big step of leaving her in her big-girl underwear all night long.  I was prepared to have her wake up in the middle of the night crying, needing a change of clothes and bedding, and even had problems going back to sleep after my husband got up at 5am (I don't get the girls until after 6am, no matter when they wake up).  However, when she rolled out of bed at 6:15am, she was dry and happy!  So proud of my big girl.  I think we can get rid of the Underjams for good since she's so good about using the potty.  Yay!

Happy C-Day!

Today is C-Day in our household.  There are two (well, three) things we are celebrating here.

#1 - C-Day stands for one of my very best friends from college, C, who is celebrating her birthday today.  I fondly refer to her as my favorite ex-wife, because we were attached at the hip in college and agreed to marry if didn't marry others later in life.  I remember being on AOL IM and messaging her two doors down (we lived two rooms apart in the dorms our senior year) at all hours of the day.  The best part was always hearing her giggle at the stuff I'd send along.  Alas, we married other people, but she will always be my favorite ex-wife.  Happiest of natal days, C, and may the coming year be truly magnificent for you!

#2 (and #3) - In our household, April 16th is fondly referred to as C-Day, or Conception Day.  Think about it:  L's birthday is January 7th and E's birthday is December 28th.  Put two and two together...hello April 16th!  Since we were also charting at the time, we can definitely pinpoint when the girls decided to make an appearance.  Hee hee!  April must be our month.  In any case, I pointed out the pattern to my husband:  April 16, 2008, then April 16, 2010...now it's April 16, 2012.  He looked at me blankly and then said "thank GOD we're both fixed."  I also think he's going to avoid coming within a ten-yard radius of me today, LOL.  Today will always be special to me because it's when our girls decided to join our lives!

Happy C-Day to all of you!

Pants - Gimme mom jeans!

Okay, here is my rant for the day:  pants.  Over the past decade or so, the waist line of most pants for women has gotten lower and lower.  Before all this started, I loved where my pants were - right at my waist.  They covered my belly button, stayed up no matter how I moved, and never squeezed my tummy too much.  Ah, good old high school jeans, how I miss thee!  Then, they started making these "low-rise" pants, and now it seems to be the majority of pants that exist nowadays (thank goodness they haven't started doing that to sweat pants!).  It SUCKS.  Low-rise pants do this weird thing where they cause a gigantic gap in the back of your pants, where someone could literally peer down the back of your pants and see your butt when you're sitting.  Low-rise pants hit your tummy right where you don't want it too (in the middle of all the pudge), thereby causing this awful thing called "muffin top."  Muffin top, for those that don't know, is when you have this ring of pudge hanging over the top of your pants.  Most of the time, if you see a large woman wearing low-rise pants and a high-rise shirt (i.e. tank top), you've got a massive case of muffin top.  Also, when you sit down in low-rise pants, the button/zipper area tends to rake into your stomach area and cause pain.  Finally, low-rise pants don't stay up!  They are meant to ride lower on you, so they tend to want to fall off.  RIDICULOUS.  I don't want to spend my day pulling my pants up every five minutes!  Not only that, but since they are low, you have to start buying pants that are either "regular" or "short" in order to not step on your pant legs as you walk.  I'm not hugely tall at 5'8", but when I have to buy "short-"size pants in order to not be stepping on myself, it's ridiculous!  I have to wear a belt too so that they don't continuously fall off my body, and (ssh, don't tell!) most of the time I have to leave the button undone under my belt so that I don't cause immense bodily harm when I sit down.  It's ridiculous beyond imagine.  I want regular pants!  I want pants that stay up, don't hurt me, and don't require a belt!  Believe me, I'm wearing my appropriate size in pants (not too big, not too small), but the way fashion is going these days, we're all going to end up in pants that look like those crazy kids that wear shorts around their knees and a long shirt!

Okay, end rant about pants.  Low-rise pants need to go the way of prohibition - DISAPPEAR.

Yay, my phone is uploading again!

My wonderful husband told me that the wi-fi on my phone wasn't on, which is why the pictures I've taken on there haven't uploaded to our computer in months.  He turned it on and there was a sudden deluge of pictures uploading!  My excitement is shared with you via random pictures in this post.

L at Easter, lounging at her great-grandparents' house (4-8-2012)

My gorgeous, funny, incredibly smart nephew S, who could also double as E's brother.  (4-8-2012)

A new definition to "potty-dancing."  (4-9-2012)

L was having a temper tantrum and hiding from me.  E decided to get down and try to console her.  (4-2012)

Cookie sleeps with dangerous vacuum implements.  I hope she's not planning something... (4-2012)

Pictures speak volumes

I thought about making a long post about something or another today, but then I thought this picture could speak more volumes than I could about what my day can be like.  L at her best, right?  LOL.

the child that lurks nearby...

This is my view most of the time when I'm on the computer.  Notice the child?  Most of the time she's mashing keys, so I was lucky she was just staring at me when I took this picture.  Crazy child, don't you know Mama has to do stuff on the computer sometimes?  Give me a break!

Is it art?!

I had to go to the faculty center at the community college last night to make copies for my class.  It's situated right beside an area where student artwork is shown.  As I was making copies, I saw the below piece of "art" out the window and just had to take a picture of it.  I can't decide whether it's actually art or not!  What do you think?!

Is it art or the scene of a crime?  (4-10-2012)

Baby Storytime - A Complaint...

We went to Baby Storytime at the library today for the first time in ages.  Of course, the day we go, the idiot substitute lady is there instead of the regular lady.  While I appreciate the fact that the library continues to have storytime, even when the main person is absent, I just want her to do a few things differently.

1.  Start on time.  Better yet, have the room open so that we can go inside with our babies instead of hanging out by the door and blocking the main entrance.
2.  Along with starting on time, don't come in and then leave to go do something for five minutes.  If you're going to be late, be late with style.  Don't do this come again-gone again thing.  Aggravating.
3.  Know what you're doing before storytime starts.  Nothing is more frustrating than seeing you look at your paper over and over because you have no clue what is happening next.  (note - this is NOT the first time this lady has done this storytime; she apparently does it about once a month, as I've noticed)
4.  When choosing a story for a bunch of kids 18 months and younger to read, please choose a BIG book.  Something that can easily be seen across the room.  Don't choose a board book that we usually read to our children when they are in our laps because the damn book is too small to see!  Also, if you choose a book that is super small, don't get frustrated when half the kids come running up closer to you to see the pictures.  Your fault you chose a bad book!
5.  Kids need to do things slowly and more than once.  Racing through all the songs and activities because you don't want to be there is really obvious - don't make my kid suffer because of it.
6.  Greeting each child in the room with a puppet is great.  Spending tons of time with one child and then skipping the next one almost completely isn't.  Give each child equal time or don't do it at all.  E was almost in tears because you skipped over her.
7.  Please don't come back and do storytime for the babies again.  EVER.  Even L was pointing out all the things you weren't doing quite right.  If a 3+ year old girl can see what needs improvement, you're doing a glaringly terrible job.

I think I may just email the main lady and tell her how things went today...

Dora the Explorer

L has discovered Dora the Explorer, via DVDs that her great-grandmother got for her.  I've gotta say, while parts of it annoy the $hit out of me (especially that damn map!), she adores it.  Dora is constantly asking questions about where she should go, how to get there, help finding things, etc., and L talks right back to her.

Dora:  "Say 'egg' if you see another Easter egg!"
L:  "EGG!  EGG!"
Dora:  "Oh, you see another egg?  Where is it?"
L:  "There!  Over there!"
Dora:  "There it is, over there!  Where should we go next?"
L:  "Barn!  To barn!"

The best part is, while she's watching it right now, she's dressed as Snow White and holding her princess figurines she got from the Easter Bunny yesterday.  Classic!

Dora, Boots the monkey, and the damn map

Easter Weekend

I'm too tired for a wordy summary of our weekend, so I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.  Summary:  drive to Tempe, hang out, birthday party at Chinese restaurant, very little sleep, Easter morning breakfast and egg hunt, birthday party (another one) at house, pack, drive home.  TIRED.

E sleeping in the car (4-7-2012)

E feeding me crackers (4-7-2012)

L helping her cousin S potty!  (4-8-2012)

E in her Easter dress (4-8-2012)

L playing with the recycling truck (4-8-2012)

Family picture on a bed (4-8-2012)

L hunting Easter eggs (4-8-2012)

E hunting Easter eggs (4-8-2012)

All the great-grandchildren (for now):  L, E, S, C, and A (4-8-2012)

Our family picture (4-8-2012)

Early mornings

There are two things I adore doing if I can get up before the sun and have a little time to myself:  go for a long run, or work in the yard.  This morning, I got to do yard work.  We have bushes in front of the front window that haven't been trimmed since we bought the house almost five years ago.  Today, I trimmed them down so they were even across the front, side, and top, and then made sure the branches in the back won't hit the house during wind.  Honestly, it was great fun.  I'm happy to do it because I get outside and I can watch and listen to the rest of the area waking up.  I see people walking dogs, jogging, people in the abandoned construction site playing with their dogs, and all kinds of other people starting to get up to go places and/or work by their homes.  Fun!  Then, I get to watch the sun come up and whole area brighten up.  It's been a good morning already, and now we get to go to a birthday party tonight.  Happy Easter weekend!

Good Friday

It's definitely been a Good Friday (har-dee-har-har).  We had breakfast at Golden Corral with my in-laws (after I did my 5.25-mile run this morning), went over to their house to let the girls get their Easter stuff from them (L:  "The Easter Bunny came!  The Easter Bunny came!"), dropped them off there for a few hours while the husband and I went to the Asian store and then Target, got a good nap, and now am just watching and playing with the girls before dinner time.  Couldn't ask for better.  <3

I know how to use my spoon...sorta. 

L being silly  :p

Funny Memory

I don't know why I was thinking about it yesterday, but I remembered something that happened while my husband and I were first dating and it made me start laughing hysterically.  We were out on our second date (can't remember where anymore) and he asked me:

Him:  When is your birthday?
Me:  ...why do you want to know?
Him:  Well, I'd like to be able to do something special for it.
Me:  Oh, that's thoughtful!  Seriously, though, you don't need to do anything.
Him:  Sure I do!  Just tell me when your birthday is.
Me:  Um...
Him:  Why won't you tell me?
Me:  Because it's in five days and feel guilty telling you because now you only have five days to plan something.

The look on his face at this point was hysterical.  I couldn't laugh at the time but it was definitely a deer-in-headlights look of panic.  However!  I will say that he gave me an awesome birthday:  time with him and he made a curry dinner.  Score!  Definitely a birthday to remember.

I'm also willing to say that that was my 24th birthday.  :)

Ugh, dropped a class

I dropped my swimming class yesterday.  It just got to the point where I couldn't figure out how to fit time into my schedule to get to the pool for a swim without sacrificing family time.  I hate taking away time from my family since the four of us are together only in the evenings and weekends.  Work already cuts into that, and even trying to swim after work was cutting it close because I'd show up 30 minutes before closing time.  Then I'd be rushing to get in laps instead of concentrating on form, and it was just...rough.  In the end, I had a C average already from not getting to the pool enough and my husband suggested that I just drop the course.  I only paid $10 to do it (thanks community college!), so it's not too much of a hit.  I have definitely learned how to do my strokes better and am a ton more confident in the water.  That's a bonus, right?  I'd love to do this again sometime when I have a bit more time, but for now, I guess we'll just take what we learned from it thus far and go from there.  Thanks, swimming class!

There are days...

There are days when my daughters are wonderful, funny, playful, and curious (to put it mildly), and they make me so happy to be around them, love them to pieces, and smother them in affection.  Who wouldn't want these children around?  They're wonderful!

Then there are days when my daughters are horrible, cranky, spiteful (it seems), and curious (red alert!  red alert!), and they make me so annoyed and pissed off that I want to throw myself out a window, run away, hide in my room, and/or ship them off to a faraway place.  Who would want these children around?  They're AWFUL.

The thing is, I realize, that they are pretty much the same day in day out.  It's me that views it differently from time to time.  Okay, yes, there are days when there is nothing else you can say but OMG THIS CHILD IS CRANKY, but I think it's also context.  Today, they drove me up the wall because they wouldn't eat, demanded way too much attention when I was trying to eat, and kept wrapping themselves about my legs/waist to hang all over me.  Obnoxious!  However, they do this most days.  I don't know why it bugs me more today than other days, it just DOES.  It's no wonder my husband is ready to hand them off after a few hours on the weekends - he just doesn't see this as their "normal;" he sees it as their "awful."  Hehehehe, if only he knew...

I've got my fingers crossed that things are better tomorrow.  Me better, them better, everything better.  Otherwise, I've gotta find a big box and packaging tape...

5K run

I did a 5K run yesterday (no joke!) to try to get myself a little bit more back into a race mindset.  Granted, I've only had about 10 days to train for this one after taking three weeks off, so I wasn't expecting spectacular results.  I finished in 28:14, which isn't terrible, but I did have to walk twice (at 2 miles and at 2.5 miles).  However, I think that with a few more weeks of running regularly, I can get back in the groove no problem.  My goal is ~25 minutes when I run in May, which I don't think is out of the question.  Still, I finished 137 out of 290, and 8th out of 17 in my age division.  Yay!  It was a fun morning too, with L enjoying the bouncy castle and E eating bagels out the wazoo.  I think my husband had fun taking pictures, but not so much with running after the girls.  L ran the kids race and got 2nd place in the 3 and under race!  Looking forward to more racing soon.

Me starting the 5K (in orange with the visor)  (4-1-2012)

E chowing down on a bagel (4-1-2012)

L sliding down the bouncy castle slide (4-1-2012)

Walking with my girls <3 (4-1-2012)

Dirty mind...

I think one of my favorite things about having kids right now is the ability to say something that isn't really PC (read: dirty) and have it go way over their heads.  L just laughs along with us and asks "what funny, Mama?"  I'll just reply with something like "Daddy's being silly" instead of explaining the mechanics of WHY it's so funny.  Believe me, my husband and I are like idiot teenagers most of the time when we're talking about things.  The most ridiculous stuff becomes the most hilarious stuff.

Case in point:  for dinner last night, Husband made quesadillas for the girls.  L was not a big fan of the cheese in the quesadilla (there's always something when it comes to her food) and was trying to eat around the cheese.  Well, that's hard to do when the item is primarily cheese on the inside!  So, Husband picked up the not-so-firm piece of tortilla and cheese and tried to feed it to L.  She kept turning her head and making it extremely difficult for him to put any of it in her mouth to eat.  Frustrated, he yelled out "I can't shove it in her mouth because it's too floppy!!!"  Insert me laughing hysterically and him leaving the room saying he'll come back when I grow up.  :p  Then, when he would pop his head into the room to see if I had stopped laughing, it would just make me start laughing even more.  I finally yelled at him "just stay in the room so I can get used to you being here and not laughing!  Stop coming in and out all the time!"  Of course, that sent him into fits of laughter.  L was just laughing along with us and asking what was going on.  "Daddy is being silly."  "Mommy is a pervert!"  "Daddy, what a pervert?"  "...I shouldn't have said that."

When I mentioned that I was putting this in my blog, my husband shook his head at me and asked if I'm ever embarrassed by myself, specifically at how immature I can be.  Honestly?  I can't remember a time I've embarrassed myself recently, though I'm sure he can think of 58348521 instances where I mortified him (LOL).

What kind of idiotic and/or childish things have you said or done recently that made you laugh?