Power to the People

Today was a long day. I had Shawna and the boys over to play in the yard as it is about to start raining for 6 days or so. The combo of all 5 kids was enough to exhaust me. The girls were fed and the kitchen was clean by the time Jeremy got home (which is quiet an achievement I must say), and when he called to say he was on his way I informed him that I would be 'tagging out'. Jeremy got the girls down and we had just settled down to watch World Series of Poker when the power went out. Well, we wouldn't let a little power outage stop us. Jeremy pulled out his portable DVD player and we put on Jerry Maguire. So as Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding are hoping into a taxi, the battery runs out. Noooo!!! I am incomplete now. So I let the dog out, but Mischief runs out too, and they both ran off into the dark. *grumble* We got the candles going upstairs and then I go out for my last check to bring them in for the night. Buddy came running, but no Mischief. Jeremy went for a drink of water and did one last check for Mischief. She cmae in, with a mouse in her mouth!! Imagine a flashlight as your only light source to try and capture a little tiny scurrying mouse. Ack! The flashing light and quick change in camera angle would make you motion sick faster than Blair Witch. Jeremy finally caught the mouse (my hero) and took it way far away from the house. We finally get upstairs and settled when the lights flash on and the TV flicks on.

Farming Twins

Friday we headed out to a small farm with some other moms from my Mothers & More group. It was a blast. The girls went on a hay ride, and played with seeds, and picked out some gourds. We will probably go back to pick out pumpkins soon as they had the best looking stuff. I thought I would tell everyone that the red heads were mine, but there were a ton there. 2 red head boys in our group and then another red head mom with her 2 red headed children. Not that was crazy, but when I looked at her oldest, my jaw almost hit the floor. It was like looking back in time. Cassidy's doppelganger. Her name is Hayden, and she lives here, and at least we've met her once. Here's a pic. Which is Cassidy?? LOL

Selfish Stores

I went out with my friend Shawna and her 3 boys on Thursday. Cassidy was in preschool for the DAY, so we threw an extra car seat in Shawna's minivan, and headed out. We went to a couple of outlet furniture stores after we had some lunch. And at the last store, the kids and us were getting tired. As we were walking around, her 4 yr old announced he had to go pee. So Shawna went to go find the bathroom. When she returned she was not too happy, as they would not allow him to use their bathroom, but sent them over to the Starbucks across the parking lot. Bradley I'm sure asked why they had to go and Shawna explained that the store was being selfish and not sharing their bathroom. We headed over to look at some of the furniture and there were signs posted saying, 'Adults only'. Shawna had had it (and so had I). She announced, "C'mon kids. Let's leave this child unfriendly store.) As we roll out the front door, Bradley leans back in and asks the lady working there, "Are you selfish for not sharing your bathroom?" Don't let a 4 yr old hear it if you don't want it repeated.

Birthday Party Ins and Outs

So, you think you can handle a 2 hour birthday party for a preschooler? The highlights follow. We arrive a little late, so already you are down to 1 hour and 45 minutes. It's at a place that features blow-up bouncy houses, obstacle courses and slides. Sound easy, until your 20 month old goes into the obstacle course and you have to follow her through to make sure she doesn't fall off the climbing wall and break her neck. Repeat 3 times. At some point enters the Don Juan of the class. He is wearing stylish jeans and a button up shirt, that has a few buttons undone to reveal his gold chain. The family is Latino, so that's not crazy, but when I caught the whiff of his cologne (which was good, btw) as he passed by me (on lap 2 of obstacle course) I couldn't help but wonder who it was for. (Thankfully Cassidy has told me on several occasions that she doesn't like him.) ;) When you finally get your little one out of the obstacle course, it is to the slide. Which is about 25 feet high. Your 3.5 year old comes up and says she's thirsty with only an hour left to go. You head out and get a drink and pray that the end is apporaching. Shouldn't there be pizza soon?? You walk back in to find that they are posing for a photo, you get your 3.5 year old set up and look around for the baby. Oh, there she is climbing the slide that all the kids are sitting at the base of. The laugh that went up when she skids and does a roll before landing in the pile of kids! Finally, pizza time. Then it's cake time. Woohoo! The end is in sight. Wait a minute, did someone say pinata? Finally, time to grab your favor bag and a balloon and head out the door. Sounds like the ordeal is over, but you have to take back your sugared up kids home!!

Madame President Cassidy

Yesterday our family participated in something frivilous, we went for a drive. With gas prices at and over $3/gal our 45 minute jaunt was needed though. When the kids are buckled up they can't get into trouble and for some reason they stay pretty quiet in the car, so Jeremy and I can actually have a conversation. As our drive started, Cassidy wanted a visor in her window to block the sun, and later, she took it out. Then immediately complained about the sun, and how Mommy took it out. I think there was even a 'Mommy ruined it' as I tried to put the visor back in place. Jeremy and I laughed as she denied the truth in front of her, and I turned to him and said, "Do you think we have the 1st woman president of the United States in the car?" We went on to discover, that she could do the job now. .... Iraq, you invaded Kuwait, go sit on the naughty stool for 3 minutes. No, no crying, and before you get off say sorry and give Kuwait a hug. .... Middle East peace would be no problem if they had Cassidy around. "Palestine, why don't you like Israel?" 'You see, it goes back thousands of years.' "Why?" 'That is a good question. My father is a Muslim and their mother is a Jew and that is why we don't like them.' "Why?" 'We have different beliefs.' "Why?" 'You are starting to make sense. I ask myself that sometimes.' Eventually, they would have to give in to stop her from asking. ..... You have some new policy change. 'Ms. President Cassidy, listen to this great idea that a lobbyist has.' "No! You listen to MY words!" .... As long as China doesn't figure out to ship her all the latest toys and Belgium doesn't send her choclates to distract her it might work out. I'm voting Cassidy in 2008!

Another McDonald's story!!

Keira has been talking up a storm. And at least we know what she doesn't like. We can ask her if she wants juice, and she will say, "No no no." She also says "Ank you" when you give her something, my personal favorite. And she even offers to share her food, but more often asks to share yours with the ever popular, "Bite". Of course, what good blog entry of mine wouldn't include something on McDonald's. I swear I should contact them and see about getting paid for my cute stories. Today Cassidy has a terrible cold, and so Jeremy picked up dinner on the way home. While Cassidy was picking at her fries, she asked Jeremy if he liked the brown ones, and held up an overcooked nub of a fry. Jeremy said no, and Cassidy took a bite, and announced, "Yummy, de-lic-ious!" Then she handed the rest to Jeremy and said, "It's a little bit yucky, but it's very not bad." Let me know if you figure out what that means. LOL

Rat Pack's Revenge

My trip to Las Vegas was FANTASTIC!! It was HOT though. I arrived and it was 113. So the first thing I did was get the a/c going in my parents place. Then Gayle and her sis Aileen came and picked me up. Gayle looks the same as when were roomies in college (thus affirming that 10 years could not really have passed). We headed to the Luxor for some dinner, and then they took me to see Blue Man Group. The highlight of the show was when a Blue Man spotted us, and I leaned to Gayle, and said, "He's coming for you." Thankfully for Gayle, he only chose to stand on her chair and dance. I had such a good time heading out with some 'women' instead of some 'girls'. LOL. I was in bed at 10, but I still felt like I was living it up. The next morning we started at one end of 'the strip' (Mandalay Bay) and made our way all the way down to Wynn. We went into Mandalay Bay, then Luxor, then skirted through Excalibur before going into NY NY. Then we hit M&M world to get some presents for my girls. It was about lunch time then, so made our way through Aladdin, then crossed over to Caesars. Had a nice lunch before hitting the Forum shops. I did a LOT of shopping, but the most expensive thing was a gift for the stay-at-home-Daddy, Jeremy, so it's all good. ;) Then we crossed back over to the Venetian for a gelato and finally made our way to Wynn. It's a beautiful place, and I would have loved to have had more time to walk around it. They had a beautiful waterfall, that goes into a pool type thing. I would have loved to have gone into the restaurant there to listen to the water and watch. But we needed to meet up with Aileen so I could head to airport. We met Wynn's right hand man (which is Aileen's boss), and then I headed to the taxi line to go home. It felt good to get back to the NW and 60 felt fantastic after the 110 we were walking around in. Jeremy loves his wallet, and the girls loved their M&M toys. I felt great yesterday morning, until the Rat Pack's Revenge struck. Too short a trip I guess.

Leaving FOR Las Vegas

Keira just threw a harmonica in my face, Cassidy tried jumping over her sister, laundry needs to get done, and dishes too. I can not wait to get out of town for 2 whole days!! I'm going to get a book and read it uninterrupted. Or maybe take a nap on the plane. Will I miss my girls? What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

A steel trap I tell you

I took Cassidy to piano class the other morning. Afterwards we walked past the candy machine and she told me she wanted the red candy. I told her no because she wouldn't like it. It was spicy red candy. And she started fussing at me, "No, it's not. It's good." "How do you know?" "On the second day Aunt Kathy was here, she gave me that candy." So I actually looked in the machine and there were the pack of Red Vines!! I can't believe she remembered that!! So I put in the change and bought the pack!

5 more minutes, Mom

Cassidy has decided to start staying up late. The last 3 nights hse has moved her bed time back to 9 pm. UGH! I think it's a pain mostly because she IS tired, and so we deal with fussy 3 year old for an hour before she finally falls asleep. This weekend it wasn't so bad, as she slept in a bit, which allowed Jeremy and I to sleep in. Well, I decided to wake her up early today to try and reset her clock. I opened the blinds, rubbed her back and said, "Time to wake up". Cassidy mumbled a bit, rolled over and said, "No wake up. I wanna sleep in like Daddy." I had to laugh.

Spontaneous Applause

I am NOT a business woman. I have no desire to sell anything. I don't like to be sold to, so I can't stand trying to push something on someone else. Hence, why it is difficult for me to talk about BabySock. I love it, and think everyone will like it, but I would just buy or give one to everyone I know instead of sell it. Not good business sense, I know. Last night I headed off to my Mothers & More meeting. The topic was a take on Oprah's "useful" things. But it was like the white elephant game and had a $5 limit. So I packed up a BabySock (order yours now for $29.99 at BabySock.com, use link to right and enter coupon code 'ecard' to save $5) and headed to the meeting. I was sooo nervous. I was going to have to explain what it is and hope that whoever picked it didn't have 9 year olds or something. I had one of the biggest packages and as Magic Erasers and stain stick were getting passed around, it sat. Oh, I started to get even more nervous. The woman next to me (whom I took a meal to when her daughter was born last December) said she was going to take it. Phew! Only one more person before her, and someone else picked it up. She seemed to be pleased just by the look of the fleece and then I had to go into the story of blankets getting kicked off, no one else had a product that would work, 2nd baby, used my hand stitched one again, decided we needed to make them and sell them and we launch on Sept. 1. I finished and amazingly, they applauded!! I mean, applause. Spontaneous Applause. I couldn't believe it. And as with white elephant gifts, you are supposed to steal, and it got stolen by the woman next to me, and then it was stolen from her. Other people want it too! Last night was good for my business soul. Made me feel more confident about success. In the parking lot after the meeting I spotted the woman who had the BabySock swiped from her, checked my trunk and had a pink one. Gave it to her, and she gave me a hug and told me she would tell everyone about it. Maybe I'm not so bad as a business woman.

Pot-Smoking-Hippie-Moms

I had 2 totally different days yesterday, so I decided to give each part their own time. I met up with my friend Shawna and her 3 boys (ages 4, 2 and 5 months) at a local park. Cassidy was pretty beat but she had dance class in an hour, so I wanted to keep her awake and exhaust her so she would go to bed early. Shawna's boys are, well, boys, but they are well behaved. They listen to their Mom and only seem to push each other. Some other ladies had gathered in the park too, a group of hippie looking women were having lunch. (This isn't a deregotary term, just a description of clothes and hair.) One of the "hippie-mamas" took her toddler boy off into the bushes to pee. Which, I have seen at other parks without restrooms, but I am pretty sure this one did have them, but I let it go assuming they might be locked. But about 5 minutes later when the same boy is in the play area picking up and throwing the bark, and no one is doing anything, I start to grumble. Especially as he approaches Cassidy and throws it right in her face. I storm over, and the boy sees the look on my face, and started to bee-line it to "hippie-mamas". I used a stern voice, and even while he ran told him that it was not okay to throw at people. The Mama was nowhere to be found and so she failed to parent in that situation. (Yes, she's on trial here folks. Keep reading.) Not another 5 minutes had passed and he is back with a stick. Not so much a 'stick' as a BRANCH off a tree that some other boys had been destroying. He brings it into play area and starts waving it around, and sure enough heads toward Cassidy again. This time I was on my way before he hit her, and arrived shortly after. The "hippie-mama" finally witnessed the event as it was not 5 feet from her luncheon. "Hippie-mama" apologized for her son, and told him in a sweet voice, "See, you made the girl cry. It's not okay to hit with a stick." I asked how old he was, 2. Then she was off again. I was a little surprised as she didn't try to make her son apologize. It was then I started to refer to the group as "Pot-smoking-hippie-moms" since I figured they all must be high or smoked it durning pregnancy to let their kids abuse others with little concern. Then it happened, the final straw. Shwana's 2 year old didn't want to share and was shoving with his brother. She pulled them apart and told the 2 year old he had to wait (difficult for any 2 yo). When he started crying she told him he would have to "go sit down" if he didn't stop. Well, she had to pick him up and put him on a bench. Of course, he tried to get up and she put him back, told him no, and crying continued. It was about this time, I notice 'hippie-mama" looking on and shaking her head at the scene. As if a toddler crying from punishment was worse than George W. getting elected again. I try to be open minded when it comes to other parents style of raising their kids, but I just had it with this lady yesterday as her son repeatedly terrorized my daugter and she stood back and did nothing and then 'judged' someone who I think is doing a good job raising her boys (who have yet to hit, throw or in any way assault my princesses!)

Theme Song

This weekend we went to one of my favorite places in the world, Stupid Prices (which is an outlet for Costco Home). It and Ikea are at the top of my list right now. Point being, that we found a great dining room set, which is good news for all those coming to my place for Thanksgiving this year. I thought it was going to be served on our dining room floor, but we know have table and chairs. Phew. While there, we browsed the TVs and other electronics and found a great Yamaha keyboard that has about a million things that I will never know how to use. But for the price and with my 10% off coupon it was quite the bargain and seemed perfect for Cassidy our budding musician. Well, she loves it, as does Keira. They quickly learned that it will play songs that are already recorded. And their favorite is the Theme to Star Wars. Cassidy asked what the song was about, and we told her outer space, so now when she plays it she will spin and shout, "I'm a planet!" Every time I walk into the playroom the Theme Song seems to start up. I now expect it to start when I walk into the grocery store.

Time for sleep

We had our friends Robyn and Jen out for a visit this week. It has been a crazy week! We found out that the BabySocks would be ready on Friday, Jeremy flew to San Jose for 1 day, and Keira was up the entire night before he left crying. Needless to say, we were exhausted for most of the trip. So Friday we picked up the BabySocks! Woohoo! And Saturday it was time to take Robyn and Jen to the airport. I took Cassidy hoping that she would fall asleep on the way as she had been moody and acting fussy. At one point she asked me if she could play with Play-doh when we got home. "No," I said, "becasue after we drop Robyn and Jen off at the airport, you should fall asleep on the ride back." "I will NOT fall asleep!" "We'll see about that." And I hit play on the Dido CD. Not even 5 minutes later she was out.

Sing us a song...

She's the piano girl! Cassidy started taking some piano lessons a few weeks ago. The first week, she practiced every day and the tune had some words, and she was great. The next week, she practiced 2 times, the song had no words, she had no interest. This week, the words are back, and she has been practicing no problem. This morning she actually sang the song while she played it. I knew she was a musical genius!!

Drunken Baby

Last night we decided to grill, and having had a rough day with the girls, I looked into the fridge to see what could ease my mood. I found a nice cold Mike's Hard Lemonade, and headed outside. As always, the girls wanted to share my drink. Keira was the only one, as Cassidy was too busy playing in the sand. Well, I thought she would have a sip, taste the alcohol and be done. Too bad you can't taste the alcohol in those things. Keira kept screaming for more sips. I let her have another, but as I was talking to Jeremy working the grill, when I looked back it was to her tilting the bottle back all the way. Oh my! I'm not sure how much she gulped down, but she wasn't interested in eating (so not Keira) and just laughed all through dinner. At least she's not a mean drunk!

Gone Fishin'

Today my Mother's group met up at a trout farm to go fishing. I had to wake Keira up early from her nap (which is no easy feat, and not one worth doing I dare say) so we could make it in time. I had to endure traffic and fussing from the back seat until we arrived. Then it was all the girls could do to contain themselves. Cassidy had no problem understanding holding the rod, and Keira had no problem wanting to help out. She would grab the rod any chance she could and dip it in the water. I think she was more interested in 'spearing' the fish. We felt a few tugs as bait was nipped away, and then, we hooked one. I asked Cassidy if she felt the tug, and she nodded yes. We pulled out a good sized (okay, it was about 7 inches) rainbow trout. I wish I could go back in time and have her pose with the fish, but at that point I was looking for the employee to come and remove the fish. I think Cassidy and Keira will be good fisher women, but I never did develop the stomach for it.

Language Lessons

Welcome to Cassidy-101. Cassidy has always had a knack for making up songs, friends (Wendy, her best friend based loosely off of Peter Pan) and even names for pretend (she still says to call her Marshmallow on occasion), but today she went to new heights. Yesterday we had a conversation about Spanish, since the Spanish word of the day was Hola, which means Hello. We talked about what other Spanish words she knows. Rojo means Red. Azul means Blue. Numbers 1-10. Adios means Good-bye. I was so proud of her interest in learning another language. After Cassidy's dance class we have made a tradition of eating at a local diner, which has a train going around the top, a bike mounted in the middle and other kitschy stuff. During the middle of dinner, she shouts, "That boy just said the bike was 'duntz'!" "I'm sorry, sweetie, I didn't understand you. Did you say 'duntz'?" "Yeah." "What does 'duntz' mean?" "Mommy, 'duntz' means bike. ... in Spanish."

Sick-Wife Days

Last night as we were putting the girls down, it hit me. My head started to swirl and I was just exhausted. I fell asleep at 8:30. I'm not sure, but I think I fell asleep before Keira. Overnight, my condition did not improve. This morning when Keira woke up, before the legal limit, I told Jeremy I still wasn't feeling well. He answered the call, and let me sleep in, taking care of the girls. When I finally made it downstairs (after 12 hours of sleep, woohoo) he was starting a load of laundry and told me that he had called in "Sick-wife" today.

Banana Ice-Cream!!

Recently Cassidy had a little 'set-back' in the toilet training arena. Perhaps it was b/c of the move, or it could be she just deicded to get lazy. She only seemed to have an 'accident' if she was too busy playing outside. So we put off trying for no diaper at night for awhile. I had mentioned a few times to Cassidy that if she made it through the night that she would get a special treat. She promptly grinned and said, "Ice-cream?! Banana Ice-cream!" The first night, no luck, the next night, no luck. Then she came in the next day, and ta-da! But we didn't have time to make it to ice-cream store. Yet, she did it again the next night, still no time to get to store. Last night we had the baby sitter, and Cassidy decided to forgo the diaper, and she did it yet again!! Banana Ice-Cream for everyone!!

Keeping up

Keira is trying to be a 3 year old. When Cassidy was this age, she was happy with who she was. Loving life as a toddler with no siblings. Keira on the other hand, watches what her sister does, and thinks, "Why not me?" She climbs into the kitchen tables and wants to eat there (even at restaurants, she threw a nice fit last night). She climbs into Cassidy's bed and will lay down if she wants some quiet time. And today, I found her climbing on some brick decorative pieces we have out front. Cassidy was climbing them yesterday and again today, so Keira just did it. I didn't know she could climb them, as I'm sure she had quite a reach to get to them, but she did it. And boy did she look proud! I should have snapped a picture, but that would have involved getting the camera, and I wasn't going to leave her up there!!

mmm...Awmmy

I'll be honest. I have not been keeping track of when Keira was saying her first words, or even what that word might be. We are always doing stuff and she makes lots of 'noises'. I kept saying, when she decides to talk it will be in full sentences. Well, it turns out she has been talking, we just haven't been listening (sorry Keira). So we are heading out this week, and I crate Buddy, Keira is to my unlearned ear mumbling, "Doh. Doh. Uddy." Me, "Uh-huh". Keira comes up to me in family room while I'm petting Mischief, "At. Itty" I point to Jeremy, "Who is that?" "ddd..Addy" Now I must point out that her ddd is very soft, almost under the breath, so it sounds more like a mumbled something. "Who am I?" "mmm...Awmmy" Again with the under the breath thing. Point being, we suddenly stopped this week, and listened to her. Turns out she has been talking. I wonder what else she's saying. "Eee eee..quals mmmm see squ...aired"

Busy Days

Phew! Cassidy just had a very busy day, which means Keira and I have been very busy too. We started out slow enough, Cassidy playing, Keira napping, me doing laundry, and then we got the call to go over to CJ's house for a pool party (kiddie pool). So we played there and had some fun, then it was a quick run home for snacks before we headed off to Cassidy's 1st Dance Play class. Keira and I got to leave her in there (otherwise Keira would have joined the class or screamed through it) and we did some walking around outside. Then we met Jeremy for dinner and then it was off to Cassidy's tennis class. She loves it, but 45 min is a bit long for her to focus on the court. I am beat, Keira's been asleep for almost an hour, and thankfully Jeremy is putting Cassidy down now. How she is still awake, I have no clue. The rest of the summer should be more low key. We just had an overlap of classes today and the start of a heat wave. I know, 80's doesn't seem like a heat wave, but for us it is!

Table Dancers and Beauty Queens

So Keira has hit 18 months. My life keeps going faster and faster. Every day I race and run until the girls go down. Keira has learned to climb and her favorite thing to do right now is climb the kitchen chair to then climb on to the table. She usually stands once she's up there, which takes less time then you might think. I was a little worried about her future when I caught her dancing up there, but I think it was coincidence. As if that wasn't bad enough, Cassidy pulled a new one on me. I had been wearing her plastic princess earrings in the morning (don't ask) and Cassidy put them on later. Then she comes and finds me to tell me, "I think they are prettier on me, Mommy." My ego is crushed.

Being a singer

So Cassidy asked me yesterday if the woman on the CD was a "singer". I said, "Yes, just like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz" (the Muppet version in case you are wondering). Cassidy then quoted part of the moral of the movie, which is that you are whatever you want to be. So to encourage my daughter I said, "You can be a singer too, you just have to sing." Well, that's all that she needed. She burst into song. A mix of 3 songs that we had just heard. It went something like this, "Oh pretzels, and you turn into horses, and you have a lot of fun. Everyday, everyday, everyday. And cookies." I pray she doesn't try out for American Idol!

The Adventures of Pineapple

Yesterday morning Cassidy asked if I would like a story about dinosaurs or pineapple. She had already taken one of her books and read a dinosaur story (meaning, she made one up). I chose pineapple to mix it up a bit. She then told me the story of "Pineapple". Here it is as best as I can remember. One day "Pineapple" was walking on some ducks. It hurt the ducks when "Pineapple" walked on them and so they decided to eat "Pineapple" all up. That made "Pineapple" sad and he cried. (Flip a page.) "Pinapple" was walking on some chickens, and it hurt the chickens, so they ate "Pineapple" all up.
Moral of the story, don't walk on anything that can eat you!

Back On-line, Again

After Verizon closed our service call ticket to have someone come out and check the line to our house after doing a 'remote' test, they actually sent someone out this morning. So I am On-line again. Phew! The move went well, and the house is great. The girls are adjusting, as are we. Mom and Dad came for a quick visit to move boxes and help us get ready for the 4th of July. We had our old neighbors and some other friends over for some food and fun. It turned out great and all the little kids ran around and had fun. The best was all the 'guys' set up under the deck by the baby swings and 4 men sat around pushing one baby. It was perfect weather and showed off the view, so it was great. I have lots of stories that I need to blog, so after I sort threw all my emails I will get to posting.

Umm...our new house ROCKS!

I don't usually like to go on about material possesions, but I really have to talk about our new house. Today we headed off to Toys R Us to get some extra sand and picked up a play table for train sets and such too. We got to the new house and the sun was out (which is amazing as we have had very wet cold weather this week). Jeremy dumped the new sand in the box under th play yard and then he and I ate sandwiches while the girls played and played. I unloaded a few of the kitchen boxes that we had already brought over while the girls played upstairs. Later (after naps) we went back and put together the train table, which came with a little train set and tracks. The girls never stop moving while we are there and so far they haven't even cared that there's no TV. Hmmm.. I might be on to something. The bonus room will be without TV for awhile at least. Jeremy and I keep giggling because we can't believe we are going to live there. It was such a beautiful day and we just sat admiring the view. I am really looking forward to getting settled in, and changing the paint in the dining room!

Love songs to a 3 yo

Have you ever tried to explain a love song to a 3 yo? It is not so easy. Seeing as how most music is about love, either just falling, breaking it off, or the nasty kind it is hard to avoid. So while drving home from preschool today there was a song about "I would rip open my heart, so I could feel again". So she asked me what the song was about. I told her it was about a man who missed his wife. Sure, it sounds good, right? So Cassidy suggested, "Maybe he misses her because she went to the grocery store." Now if only my hubbie missed me that much when I went to the grocery store!

Papers are signed

After much fuss, and not from our girls, the papers to buy our new house and sell our current house are signed. Woohoo! Let's just say that the Escrow company we used has "Professional" in their title, and were nothing close to pros. But, the papers are signed. Now we just wait to get the keys. Jeremy and I are very excited. I can't wait to get in there and figure out where things are going to go. It's amazing how little time we have spent in the house. Although we have been driving past it on a regular basis.

School Quilt

Well, it is done. It took just under a week to finish the quilt. Since we had to scrap my Irish Chain squares, we started from scratch last Saturday. It was a lot of work, but I think it looks pretty good. I'm sure the girls are going to miss meals coming from a papernbag and TV all day long!

The Lizard of Oz

Cassidy's school quilt is supposed to be finsihed tomorrow. So how is it I have a spare second to blog? The other mom who is helping out had to leave b/c her daughter became ill. Which isn't too surprising. The class is falling like flies thanks to the "chicken pops". Or as I would say, the chicken-pox. So I have had to park the girls in front of the TV more than I like to admit. Cassidy's favorite right now is "The Lizard of Oz". The Muppets rendition which we have on Tivo. At least I know what she will want for Xmas this year.

Happy Ear Day!

Today one of the other Mom's from Cassidy's preschool was over to help with the quilt. We are making good progress....I think. Sort of hard to tell as we have to get it done by Friday night so it can go on the auction block on Saturday. Yikes! So we locked ourselves in the office and slaved away while Jeremy took care of the girls. We took a break for lunch and Cassidy was very excited to have company. She eagerly said, "Daddy I have something to say to you" When our guest asked, "What is it, Cassidy?" Cassidy said, "No, not you, to Daddy. Daddy, Happy Ear Day." She then let me know she had something to say to me, another "Happy Ear Day". Finally our guest was graced with Cassidy's well wishes for a "Happy Ear Day". So to all of you, Happy Ear Day from ours!

Back On-line

Jeremy took my li'l iBook to his new job with the Mac Business Unit at Microsoft and fixed it. Hooray! Only one problem. Jeremy has done this with every reinstall he's ever done, he forgets to transfer my email. So I have no address book, no previous emails, nothing but a few new messages. So I apologize for my diapperance from the electronic world. I still have quite a few on my yahoo account, but it will take me awhile to get back into the swing of things. Sorry all. But at least I'm blogging again! Woohoo!

What does Oprah know?

I remember watching Oprah B.K. (before kids) and so many epsiodes were about women and mothers and at the end of the show, Oprah would sum up so nicely, "Take time for yourself". This week has been pure torture for me. I have had terrible PMS, that set off a bout of depression, Jeremy started his new job so he has been gone more than I'm used too, and I have this quilt for Cassidy's preschool to finish. You know, by June 4th and I had NONE of it done as of Saturday morning. Which started awful as Jeremy was tired and felt he deserved to sleep in, even though I was the one ready for the loony bin on Friday while he was at the Star Wars movie with his team until 6:30. It's moments like these I think of Oprah's advice. When I can't even take the trash out uninterrupted and have an urgent project to finish I'm supposed to 'take time' for myself. What does Oprah know? She's not even married, let alone kids. I mean, she probably follows her own advice, but it's a whole lot easier without kids!

And the runner up is....

We just had a rocking vacation last week, and we are still recovering and trying to get rested. Seeing my friends always does something to me though. Makes me long for the old days before kids. When I could stay out late, sleep in late or do whatever I wanted on a vacation. Someone always says, "You're such a good Mom" which I take as a consolation prize. It's not that anyone thinks I'm less of a person b/c I'm doing the SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) thing, it's that I take it that way. I know it stems from my dissatisfaction. If someone were to say, "You're such a good chemist" while I was still working, I would have taken pride. The problem is I didn't choose to be a SAHM for my career. My problem is I keep finding reasons why I should wait until I get back into the work force, and find myself miserable in the mean time. Ok, I'm not miserable, I'm just not living every moment with my girls as if it was a special gift. Maybe it's me, but I don't find sopping up pee from the carpet b/c my 3yo decided not to go to the toilet a special gift that I should treasure always. In fact, I hope to forget that moment soon, so I don't bring it up at dinner when she's 17.

1 week(s) 12 hours and 7 minutes

Otherwise known as how long our vacation was according to the parking machine at SeaTac. Jeremy and I had to agree that it was our best vacation ever with the girls. Not that we didn't have some challenges, which mostly started before we left. In other words, don't put an offer on a house, put your house on the market and have your husbands last day at his current work the day before you leave!! We were ready to enjoy the vacation, and would have if the fax machine would have been working and the girls slept for the first 2 days. But amazingly, they finally slept and we finally sold our house. Woohoo! Let the real vacation begin. We took it easy in Tahoe, as it snowed on us and then turned sunny and warm. Had photos done of the family at the beach. Then went out on the boat with Grandpa. Cassidy drove it, and we had a great bumpy cold time. Jeremy had his attmept at the World Series of Poker Circuit Event (a $200 entry) and was taken out by a pro. We watched a lot of the pros play (almost got run over by Doyle Bronson in his Rascal Scooter)and the 2 of us went to watch the final table play. Then we headed down to Sacramento for some friend time. Hung with Jim and Jill, Robyn and Jen, Ashley and Kevin, as well as my Grandpa (girls great Grandpa). Every night we went to bed exhausted and woke up a little before we were ready. We packed as much fun as possible in. We were so happy to be home last night, so imagine our horror when we find ourselves locked out of our house. No problem, just call our baby sitter from down the street, who is on a ferry boat!! ACK!! Call real estate agent, leave message. No, I'm fine. Jeremy's trying to pick the lock, I'm crossing my legs cause I have to pee, and girls are fussing because they are still in car. Yeah! It was a GREAT trip! Amazing how complete exhaustion and having to pee can taint your view of a trip. Meet sitter at McD's and get girls to bed an hour later than we planned, but thankful we got in at all. After a good night's sleep in our own house, it really was a great trip and we had a blast.

Mothers and .... More (on being Julia Roberts)

Julia Roberts graced the cover of People magazine's 50 most beautiful cover for a 3rd time. According to the mag, since becoming a mother Julia has become more beautiful. So nice to see having twins is helping out someone's career. It made me think about how society views motherhood though. For example, Julia is seen as an actress, an Oscar winner, a beautiful woman AND a mother. It is just another title to add to her long list. Yet for many women, when they achieve the title of 'mother' they lose all their previous titles. Somehow now that you are a mother means that it has more priority than any of your other titles. See my post on Mothers&More site about loving your husband more than your kids. Why does "Mother" take precedent over "wife", "employee", "woman", "research scientist", "sex goddess" or any other title? Why do we do it to ourselves and to others? I know I need to focus on the 'More' when I meet fellow Moms and hopefully we all will.

Blech, Garage Sales

I hate garage sales. Not going to snoop through other people's stuff and see what I can find, mind you, but putting one on. Today my Mothers&More group is hosting a garage sale, and I have done everything I possibly can to avoid helping out during the sale. Except I can't stop myself and throw out that last life line as I'm dropping stuff off last night. I hear myself saying, "You don't need anyone else for tomorrow do you?" WHAT!! How did that escape my lips? Oh well, it's tomorrow they must have enough people. "Yes, please show up at 11." Nooooo.

I don't know where my garage-sale-aphobia began. We never had one as a child, so maybe it's my lack of experience. Maybe it's that I'm not very social with strangers, so I don't like to haggle over a price. Even when my best garage sale experience when we left NC, I did everything under the sun to avoid being out there. And let me tell you, the southerners know how to garage sale. It starts at 8 and ends at 11. None of this, hanging around all day until 2 in the afternoon. And people will start driving by as you set up. You get the early shoppers, who try to get you while you're setting up, "How much for this clock radio?" You have to fend them off until you are ready for business. Then there is a rush. As all the 'good' stuff will be gone in the first hour. Then you wait as people come in from their 1st choice garage sales and see if you have anything left that is good to them. We had a wonderful experience with a group of women who came in when it was almost closing time. We still had a couch that we didn't want to bring with us, but she was setting up a new apartment. Then her aunt found the rest of a set of china she had bought the previous week that one of our neighbors had brought over. Suddenly there was singing of "Thank you, Jesus!" I guess that was what ruined me for all other garage sales. If you don't have an impromptu gospel choir, I'm not sure I want to garage sale.

Apple a Day

Our house has 3 computers. 1 desktop PC, 1 laptop PC, and my Apple laptop. It is set up with wireless internet, so I get to bring it with me all through the house. It allows me to watch the girls play, but still do my own thing, like blog! So imagine my dismay when after installing the last 'security update' my beloved Apple would not reboot. I feel sorry for Jeremy as I have taken over his laptop to check emails and to put out a few blogs. We have been trying to figure out what went wrong, but Apple has yet to own up to having a problem in their update even though plenty of people have lost ability to boot. Maybe they don't know b/c no one can get on-line to yell at them! Sorry for they delay, but things will be slower until we get it sorted out.

Exquisite Taste

As previously mentioned, my cousin is in town for a visit. We have been having a good time, doing some touristy stuff. Like check out the Microsoft museum, the space needle and, of course, Pike's Place market. While we were wandering around the market famous for it's fish tossing yesterday, lunch time came upon us. We popped over to a quiet corner of the market, and Jeremy asked Cassidy, "What would you like to eat for lunch?" Cassidy stood and seriously thought for a moment, "Um..Lobster!"

Long Day, scratch, Week

I started this post on Monday, when Jeremy had to fly down to Sacramento for business. He was not even be gone for 18 hours, but it still seems like an eternity to me. He left shortly after Keira got up, but before Cassidy was up. After spring break last week, I knew getting her ready and out the door for school was going to be a challenge. Amazingly, Cassidy was in good spirits, ate her breakfast, put her dishes in the sink, and managed to get dressed without shedding a single tear. After dropping her off, I had my next challenge. Keeping Keira awake and happy until we pick up Cassidy from school. We made it through the afternoon without any drama, and had dinner and baths. Keira went down easy, but Cassidy was still up when Jeremy landed at airport. About 10 minutes from home is when she finally passed out. Tuesday was rough, because we were all tired out from Monday. Also, we were trying to get the house ready for photos since we are going to put it on market in a couple of weeks. Cassidy pulled another late nighter, which meant Jeremy and I were up late rearranging furniture and sorting through 'junk' late. Yesterday, was the mad dash to get everything clean and REALLY ready for pictures, plus go view another house. We put Cassidy in the car at 6:15 to drive around so she could fall asleep at a decent hour and get back into her schedule. At 8, quiet was in the house. Now my cousin is arriving today for the weekend. I guess an hour of peace and quiet will have to do this week!

One of those Mornings!

So we are still in the process of recovering from a visit by my brother-in-law. The 3 adults spent way too much time playing cards and staying up late talking politics. So last night I should have gone to bed early to help the recovery process, but I headed out to a Mothers & More meeting. It was a good one and I had a fantastic time, but.... it has turned into 'one of those mornings'. I guess it actually started last night when Cassidy woke up crying and asking for milk, and Jeremy said no, which caused screaming fits. Then he did the 'swap' which usually involves one haggard parent barking at the other haggard parent, "It's YOUR turn" in their nastiest voice. She eventually made it in to bed with us, where we slept as well as can be expected. Until the 5 am wakeup call from Keira, who was hungry b/c she didn't get the snack I suggested before heading off to my meeting. The night wasn't restful, and the sun only brought the harshness of the day. Just the highlights (although I guess they are lowlights): Keira screaming b/c she dropped her snacks on the floor and the dog ate them, Banging my head on countertop while picking up dropped snack bowl, The dog bringing me a half full yogurt in the living room, The girls screaming while I'm on the toilet (thankfully when I did get to check they were just playing in drawer with crayons and books), Coming downstairs to find out what Keira was doing with the crayons from the drawer! And it's only 10am!!!

Visit from Uncle Chris

I love it when people come to visit. . .and I hate it. I love to see people, but I really hate getting routines interrupted. But it's not all bad. This weekend Jeremy's brother came to town, and we did a LOT. Mostly, I did a lot that I normally wouldn't be able to do. Today, all before 2 pm, I had been to Target, done 4 loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, tidied my bedroom and bathroom and fixed Keira's closet doors. Amazing stuff I know. How is it possible that my house isn't always spotless and that we have no 'to-do' list? Well, Uncle Chris and Jeremy were busy playing with the girls, keeping them busy and taking care of all the fussing so that I could get things done.

Censorship

I have been feeling a bit blue for the last 24 hours. Not a bad day blue. Not even a 'kids are driving me nuts' blue. A blue because I was censored. The Mothers & More group that has helped me so tremendously with realizing I'm not alone in the game of Mothering censored me. It was a shocker. The worst part, was what they censored. On their blog (which there is a link to on right) a woman posted a comment that was taken as a slam to all of the bloggers. In our discussion group it was causing a flurry of emails and I thought I would put in my two cents in the blog. Maybe I was a bit harsh or maybe I took on as if to represent the organization, but they took down my blog and never informed me as to why. I realize now that I love my chapter of Mothers & More because it is full of intelligent women who would not censor me even if they whole-heartedly disagreed. Following is the blog that I posted. You be the judge. I can take criticsim and harsh words, but I will not tolerate being 'hushed'.

One of the Mothers & More Moms had this to say to one of the postings on this site.
"I am almost ashamed to be part of Mothers & More after reading the “blog” comments sent in the Mothers Day Campaign email. Why are we mothers? To have the blessing and joy of raising our children. So what if you have to do dishes, take care of them when they’re sick or you get frustrated with your children. Twenty years from now when there are no more noses to wipe, tears to wipe away, or little hands to clean up after, you’ll all be ashamed of yourselves for whining now and not enjoying the little (sometimes unpleasant) things. Let’s stop whining about being “taken for granted” by our husbands and children and start ENJOYING them!!
Comment by Jennifer — 4/5/2005 @ 10:58 am "

I am almost ashamed to have Jennifer in this organization. I don't know what Jennifer signed up for with this group, but I read the Mission Statement before I joined. A refresher: Mothers & More is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of mothers through support, education and advocacy. We address mothers’ needs as individuals and members of society, and promote the value of all the work mothers do.

The real story of Motherhood is not all sunny afternoons making crafts or playing at the park. That is a small part of what we do. If we want to vent our frustration about the tedious, gruesome daily grind that is Motherhood who better than to other Moms who can empathsize and offer us support. Jennifer, I will never be "ashamed" of writing about the hardships of Motherhood. I do it for myself, for others and for my children. 20 years from now I will NOT miss wiping noses and bums and toddlers temper tantrums. Do you know why? Because I can relive it all by rereading my blogs. The good, the bad and the little memories that would fade away into nothing are going to be forever with me.

Spring Time

Spring is in the air, and that means Spring Cleaning. As I have already mentioned nursing is now in the past tense at my house, and today I threw away all the bottles, pumping supplies and hid the Boppy. I would have kept the Boppy out, but Keira knows what it means and will point to it and scream, and in the interest of keeping my sanity I decided to squirrel it away. I have been SOO looking forward to being done with nursing that I didn't think about what it means. I'm DONE with nursing. A little bit of sadness creeped in to my celebration. It hit me as I was tossing the breast shield into the trash can (those things look like another item out of the Amish S&M catalog).

Bribery Works

I gladly admit to bribery as a parenting technique. Worries of giving my kids too many sweets seem to never appear. Maybe it's because we dangle the 'candy carrot' and rarely have to cough it up. For example, last night we ate dinner at a local restaurant and Cassidy started dancing on her seat and generally being a pain. She didn't have a nap, and since she is still getting over the flu, it was about time she should be going to bed. So Jeremy promptly informs her that if she settles down she can have a candy when we get home. She settles. Jeremy looks across table and I say, "If she's still awake". Jeremy puts on his commercial voice, "Offer good for a limited time only. Offer expires at midnight, no subsititutions or rain checks."

Burning Bras!

Well, nursing bras. It has been over 24 hours since I last nursed Keira. I know, TMI (too much information, for those of you way behind the times) for some of you. The point being that it has been 4 years since I have had my body to myself. I have been host to 2 babies, internally and externally, for 4 years! This is a milestone. I was just looking forward to having a normal bra 2 years ago when we found out about Keira. I have not purchased a bra in over 4 years. Nursing bras don't count because they look like something out of a fetish catalog for the Amish. There isn't anything sexy about them except for easy access. I look forward to finding out what cup size I am now.

Mystery Illness

Ok, so the last entry was too soon. Sure, the fever broke, but it was far from over. Cassidy went to school on Wed. and I really hope she wasn't contagious still. She sure seemed like her old self. But after she was home and was a terrible fuss until passing out on couch for a nap, I thought maybe she shouldn't have gone. She stayed home yesterday, and took a nice 3 hour nap in the afternoon and then to bed at normal time last night. She's home today, and I think she might have one last nap in her before she's back to bounding everywhere. After much thinking and worrying, I think it was the flu. Which would explain why no one else in the family has it. Keira got a flu shot, but Cassidy didn't thanks to the shortage. Jeremy and I are fine, so I don't know if we've had it before or what. All I know is that it has not been fun for any of us.

All's Good

Cassidy's fever broke last night (phew!) and she woke us up in the middle of the night to watch Little People and eat Wheat Thins to celebrate. Thankfully she only watched it twice before climbing onto Jeremy's side of the bed and falling asleep again. Which meant Jeremy got to sleep in the big girl bed. But All is Good at Team Noonan.

Fever in the morning, Fever throughout the day

Cassidy came into our room this morning, crying with a bit of wet under her nose, "Momma, I need a tissue." We had a nice Easter with the other Cassidy and her family the night before. The girls had been running around for the last half hour before we left so my kids were beat and went to bed without any fuss last night. I got Cassidy a tissue and snuggled her up into bed with me. It was then that I noticed how hot she felt. This wasn't just a sniffle or a cold. Cassidy fell asleep again, and when she woke up I forced some food on her and gave her Tylenol. She livened up a bit after that, but managed to only jump once today. Which, if you know Cassidy means something was very wrong. She's usually climbing and jumping off of anything that sits still long enough. She took a nap in the afternoon after her second dose of Tylenol. It was hard getting her to eat food today, but we managed to get some dinner in her too. She was so pale and quiet around her normal bedtime, and we were checking WebMD to make sure we weren't missing anything. I just checked on her a scant 2 hours later, and her fever seems to be breaking. Phew. Again, we have been so fortunate that our girls have never been very sick. Here's hoping that Keira doesn't get it tomorrow as Cassidy will stay home from school again, but if she's feeling better she'll be jumping off of everything.

Dyeing Easter Eggs and Why I love Fridays

So many times I try to give you the cute and funny things that the girls did. I'm usually not so good with touching moments, and pleasant memories seem like they will be a bore to others, but I'll write them anway. ;)
I love Fridays! Cassidy goes to school, we come home and have lunch, then it's off to music class. Which both the girls love! We've been hanging around afterward the last few times and playing with the other kids on the playground. Which is great because I get some socializing in as well. Then we head home, get some dinner, and then the babysitter comes over! Woohoo! Last night Jeremy and I hit the book store, and I considered picking up a journal that I could print out my blogs and paste them into. Sort of a way to preserve all the memories in case of a server crash.
Tonght we dyed Easter Eggs. Well, Cassidy and I did. Keira was too busy running around and so Jeremy volunteered to watch TV and play harmonica to keep her busy. I wish I would have taken some pictures, but I guess tomorrow. Anyway, Cassidy did well at following directions, and we only lost 2 to being dropped. She had fun talking to the eggs. "Do you want to go in here? Yes. Ok." Then leaned in over the cup, "He says he wants to come out."

Just one of those days

A lot of stuff has been happening, but I have been too busy to blog it. Cassidy had a play date with a schoolmate of hers on Wed, and the girls played and played. Then I had a book club meeting that night, but Jeremy was late at work, so I had about 20 minutes to pass the kids off to him before heading off. Had a great time, but was feeling tired out from all my socializing today. It was one of those days when you could have taken a shower but choose to watch Live with Regis and Kelly instead. When you could have worked out, done the laundry and vacuumed during the baby's nap, but instead read emails and watched a movie you've seen 3 times before. I was tired and realized if I stayed at home I would lose my mind and the poor girls would be tortured by having to hang with me. So I took them to the library so they could run and pull off all the books they wanted without me yelling. Cassidy never likes to leave, but she decided it would be ok if she got in stroller. So we are heading out of the library, me a zombie (I think I still had mascara that I hadn't properly washed off from the night before to give me the look to suit the spirit!) the girls with spots of berry flavored applesauce on their clothes and Cassidy being fussy when I run into an acquaintance Mom (oddly enough a fellow blogger for Mothers & More). You know, someone who you don't know well enough to excuse your horrific appearance and apparent lack of hygeine on your kids. *sigh* It was just one of those days.

How to deal with your 3 year old

I've read many articles in parents magazines about taking time for yourself. How Moms will resort to things like locking themselves in the bathroom to get a few minutes to themselves, while their toddler is outside banging on door. I knew I would never resort to that, as part of our potty training we have always left doors open. But as Cassidy has become more...of a 3 year old, well, I have found myself locking myself in the bathroom, but with the laptop. In 3 minutes I can check email, read an article or a blog. Then it hits me. When you work outside the home, and you're having a bad day, you can tell everyone, "I have a headache, please contact me by e-mail only today." So I would like to start communicating with Cassidy via e-mail. That way when she wants something I would just get a nice note, "Mommy, I would like some milk". No whining, no asking half way being distracted by a toy and then finishing the thought after I've left the room. And if I say no to a request, and the fussing begins, the email would pop up "Maawwwmmiiee! I want that!" And quickly I could change my status and her email would pop up "I'm currently away from my computer now. If you are in need of immediate assistance please contact Daddy."

The banana and other mysterious food items

This entry is about our high chair. When we moved out of the company housing which had a nice simple Graco high chair we had to purchase our own high chair. We wanted something that would last. So we headed off to Toys R' Us, to surround ourselves with high chairs to make the choice. We pulled them all down, and studied them. Narrowed our choices down. Had the 2 out and were staring when another Mom came passing by. She said, "If you are trying to decide, get the Peg Pergo. I love it." (Note: price tag is much much higher on this 'Italian' brand.) It has served us well, as Keira is using it now, and Cassidy still loves to get in it. Yet, this morning, Keira drew my attention to something I was and wasn't so aware of about the chair. Keira squished up her banana and mushed it into every crevice of the thing. Now, I have to admit I'm not a clean freak like some Moms, and today it was driven home. I would like to say that I now realize I should have demanded a letter of recommendation and references from that Mom in Toys R' Us. For those with weak stomachs, stop reading now. So I get out the paper towels to get rid of the mushed nanner and start cleaning nooks and crannies. I thought I was a clean person, but as chunks of dried bread fell out along with old peas I started to wonder. I didn't feel as bad as I had to dig deeper to get at the banana because it was impossible to get my hand between the sides of the chair. I literally pulled the plastic to try and give enough room to get the towel in there. It was like flossing the high chair! Now, don't get me wrong, the tray and seat are always clean, and these 'nuggets' were coming out of parts of the chair that the kids would not be able to reach. Which is why I don't know how that stuff got in there. My advice, stick to the cheap brand of high chair that's easier to clean.

The power of drugs!

So it all started in the summer of 2001. The little stick had 2 lines, and I went in and told Jeremy we were going to have a baby. At that point, your life changes forever and you have to make sacrifices. Yeah, yeah, the baby will change things, but I'm talking about the REAL sacrifices. Because the baby brings down your immune system, I had cold after cold. The only problem, you can't take anything that might ease your suffering b/c it can affect the baby. Then for the year after Cassidy's birth, I was nursing, and again, anytime I caught something I could not take any drugs. When it finally looked like I would be able to partake of OTC's again (that's Over the Counter drugs for the grandparents who are now wondering where this is all going), we were expecting Keira, and the cycle started all over again. This week, Cassidy brought home a cold and shared it with the family. So last night, I decided that since Keira is down to 1 or 2 nursings a day that I could risk taking some cold medicine to help me breath. So I popped a Sudafed. Whoa! Maybe it was the cold, but I had crazy dreams, waking up every few hours and thankfully a clear nasal passage. When I was asleep I was out like a light. I think I might need to *ease* back into the OTC's.

Props to my blogging brother, Aaron (and Gayle too)

It all started with my ol' college roomie, Gayle. No, I mean it ALL started with Gayle. You see, because Gayle's roomie moved out on her, and I was over 21, the Housing Dept. of Penn State decided that I should move in with Gayle. Turns out the new room was one floor above Jeremy's, and the rest is history, at least for Team Noonan being formed. Blogging though began because of Gayle too. See, she kept telling me to go check out her little bro's blog, and I did. After all he's sort of like my brother too. Well, we share a birthday, not the year (he was in diapers in the 80's instead of rocking out to the Eurythmics) but the day. Well, one thing lead to another, and I finally had to comment on one of his blogs, which forced me to start my own. Ok, now the rest is history. He has a very witty blog (some call it snarky) and you can get to his site by clicking on the title of this entry.
I'm not sure what a single guy in NYC finds interesting about suburban life in WA. Maybe it's the shared bday thing. Anyway, I had to give props to my blogging brother and Gayle (our devoted fan) too.

BabySocks coming soon!

Today was quite a busy day. The whole fam hopped in the car and took Cassidy to a full day of preschool, so that the rest of us could drive down to Tacoma for a meeting with the apparel manufacturer. We had to go over a few things, like measurements and making sure labels would work, etc. Then they whipped up a sample for us. Well, it sounds like it didn't take long at all, but we were there for close to 2 hours. Mind you, this meeting started about the time Keira likes to take her nap. She did very well though until the last half hour, but she got to sleep like a champ on the ride home though. We were able to see our fleece, which was really cool. The colors look even better on a big roll then on the little swatch. We also learned that we will need to order one more thing and then it's off to production. Looks like 6 weeks before we have product. *sigh* It's hard to wait when it's been in our minds for so long. Sort of like waiting for Keira to arrive, seemed like the day would never come! LOL!

Mom is fine

We had to go to the pediatrican's office a couple of times for them to check Cassidy's blood pressure. They got an unusual reading during her normal visit, but everything is normal now. So this morning, Cassidy started checking me out with my reading light. She checked my ears, arms, legs and back. Very seriously the entire time. Then she took a deep breath, and announced to me, "Mommy, you're fine". Phew!

Introducing, Wendy

Hello Everyone! It's probably about time to introduce you to the newest member of Team Noonan. Her name is Wendy. She goes every where with us and often makes us wait around when we want to leave somewhere. She rides in the car between Cassidy and Keira, Cassidy makes sure to buckle her up before we can buckle Cassidy in. Who is Wendy? She's Cassidy's imaginary friend. Taken from the Peter Pan story, as often Peter Pan, Jon and Michael join us on adventures. After leaving a sandwich shop last weekend, I was wondering what Cassidy was doing staring some stairs. That's when she informed that Wendy had fallen down and hurt her head and then yelled down (at the top of her lungs), "Wendy, are you ok?" Or walking through a parking lot, she makes sure that Wendy holds on to her hand. It sounds all cute until Cassidy throws a toy and says, "Wendy said". Now, I'm just trying to figure out how you discipline an imaginary friend.

Enjoying the last of the sunshine

I know, spring is here, or on it's way. But it seems we have our weather a little backwards here in the Pacific Northwest. We've been having gorgeous sunny mid 60's days with today hitting 72. Not typical weather for this time of year. Yesterday we had an impromptu block party when a bunch of the neighbors gathered to play on our basketball hoop and with the plum tree blossoms. The neighbor girls and Cassidy loved pretending it was snow falling on them. Why didn't I think to grab a camera? Then today, Keira and I headed to the bookstore for story time, and walked over to do some kids clothes shopping. Finally we picked up Cassidy and then Daddy to have lunch together. Both girls took a nap when we got home. Woohoo! So I worked on the preschool quilt a bit. (I was nervous that the squares would look too busy, but I think it's going to look good.) Then it was back outside to play until Daddy got home. The clouds started rolling in, but the weather was still warm. We are expecting rain tonight and for the rest of the week, but it's hard to believe after the weeks of sun we've had.

A day off!

Somewhere in the last 3 years I completely lost my mind. So is it a surprise that I volunteered to make a quilt for Cassidy's preschool class when I've barely made a wall hanging quilt? I guess not. Well, it sounded like fun at the time, and hey, a way for me to do something that I WANT to do without having guilt. *sigh* It sounded so good, until I got a timetable, and realized that the end product would be auctioned off at the end of the year to highest bidder. WHAT??!! Not just some fun stuff for the kids to play on. Now given, the teacher keeps saying, "Don't worry, you'll have pleny of help." and "Don't worry, it will look good." Of course, I always feel like our preschool teacher would be cursing and starting fights if I got her drunk enough. She's just sooo nice and sooo sweet that I feel like she must curse like a sailor at home. Ok, where am I going with this? To quilting class. I decided to sign up for a quilting class to make sure I got my skills up before making the quilt that will go in someone elses home (unless I can convince Jeremy to outbid all the other parents). So today I was out of the house for 4 hours straight!! Four hours. Not once did anyone cry during the class, even when their bobbin thread broke. No one needed their diaper changed or asked for a snack. When I got home, Jeremy detailed some of the drama of the afternoon (Cassidy peeing in the living room, Keira fussing, the girls fighting over a toy). I smiled, knowing that this is how it is just about everyday. I'm so thankful that it's two part class and will have a day off next weekend too!

Carpet Shampooing

Having 1 dog, 2 cats and 2 kids our carpets have seen better days. We've talked about doing something, but have been taking our time figuring out what to do. Today I have an extremely busy day. Jeremy had to leave early, so I had to take both girls in the car to drop Cassidy off at school, then I will head back early for Birthday Circle so she can finally celebrate with her friends and finally after some lunch we will head to music class. Thank goodness Jeremy and I have date night! So imagine my stress levels when I finally have Keira fed and go upstairs to find a naked Cassidy with both her shampoo bottles making beautiful pools on the carpet. Which is when she put her hands in the shampoo, to whril it around like finger paint and splatter little hand prints on more carpet. So now, I really wonder what we should do about the carpets. At least they smell like watermelon!

My Swedish Daughter

Shortly after Cassidy started talking, we noticed that on occasion she would speak in an unusual cadence. It was cute, but we realized it sounded like she had a Swedish accent. She didn't do it always, otherwise it would be on video already. As she has progressed in her language, it seems that it had disappeared ... until this morning. We asked what she would like for breakfast, and she replied in a Swedish accent, "I would like some pancakes." Jeremy and I looked at each other. There it is again. Now, I can see it happening if she had ever heard one before, but we don't have the Muppet Show's Chef on TV anymore I know it wasn't there. I checked and Baby Einstein's Language Nursery says nothing about Swedish, Norwegian, or even Finnish for that matter. We watch a lot of BBC America, so I could see her asking people to come up the apples and pairs to see her room, but still no shows about Swedes. I think I will be checking our family lineage next.

Healthy Kids

I have to say I'm very thankful to have healthy kids. Cassidy had one very high fever when she was 3 months old (after getting her shots), but that was it. Keira had some trouble breathing the night she was born. Well, she was fine, but it LOOKED like she was having trouble. The worst they've ever been is when we had the "plague" that Nana Noonan left us. Sorry, Nana. But in all, that's it. Some sniffles and such, but no 102+ fevers in the middle of the night, no vomitting for days. Knocking on every piece of wood I can find. But then something happened at Cassidy's 3 year visit. Her blood pressure in one arm was higher than the other. So the doctor said she would call a cardiologist and see what they had to say and get back to us. So this weekend, while I was out, they called to book an appt to remeasure her blood pressure and discuss what it meant. **FEAR** Suddenly I felt concerned about all the McDonald's she's had (you all have read my previous blogs, you know we keep them in business!). When we went back in, her blood pressures came back the same in both arms, and everything sounded good. The doctor said she is now very confident that she doesn't have a heart problem, and we will check again next week to make absolutely sure. Today Keira had a slight fever. I'll take that over open heart surgery any day.

Keira in financial trouble?

Yesterday afternoon Cassidy took a huge nap. So we were a little worried about when she would go to bed. We were thinking of heading out for a walk when I remembered that the other Cassidy's parents were big time into watching the Oscars. So I called them up to ask if they would like to get rid of 'CJ' for a couple of hours. We walked over and picked her up and headed back to our place for some play time. The girls played for a bit, did some hula, and ate some dinner. Keira was due to go to bed during the middle of this. So I put her up at one point, but a few minutes later she started crying. CJ said, "Poor Keira", and I nodded saying, "Yes, she's very tired and needs to go to sleep." Then CJ said, "Keira is poor." Now how am I to respond to that? Funny how you don't think about some turns of phrase.

Cassidy Turns 3

Cassidy was on 'winter break' from preschool this week. So Monday we had the neighbor girls over to play, and then celebrated with a little cupcake and the opening of presents after dinner. Then Tuesday we celebrated again with the other Cassidy. The kids had a good time dancing, playing, eating dinner and finally ending on a cupcake. Wednesday we headed to the doctor for her 3 year check up, she's doing great! Friday we went to 'Music Class', which both girls loved. Cassidy fell asleep on way home and then the babysitter came up with her little sisters while Jeremy and I headed out to a movie. Amazingly, when we came home, Cassidy was still awake. She's had quite a week, and I thought it would be mellow during 'vacation'. So much for that idea. I'm really looking forward to school starting again on Monday!

Keira meet ... Kira

Today we headed out to "Pump it Up" for a 3 yr olds birthday party from Cassidy's classroom. They have giant inflatable toys, like a 30 foot slide and obstacle courses. It was mostly kids from El Salon Rojo. So we finally got to meet some of the kids that we have been hearing about and also their families. Cassidy jumped right in to things and Keira was quick to follow. She went down the huge slide with Jeremy and had a blast. That encouraged another couple with their baby to take her down the slide. She wasn't as impressed. We made some chit-chat and went back to our respective children when I heard a familiar sound. I stopped, and thought, "No. That couldn't be." So I went over and asked them, "What's your daughter's name?" "Kira" (I know because the next thing I asked was how do you spell it.) I then told them that we had a Keira too. What are the odds on that one? So not quite as identical as the other Cassidy. Spelling variation and it seems that they are about 3 weeks apart in age, not just a couple of days. Jan. 4th for ours and Jan. 26th for theirs. It does seem a little odd to keep running into ourselves out here though.

The cutest kids in the world, seriously

So many times we have claimed our children to be the 'cutest' in the world. You always hear that parents will go on about how 'cute' their kids are, even when they aren't. Well, I have PROOF that my kids are the cutest in the world. Ok, I have some evidence that may be allowed into a court of law. Tonight there was a fund raiser dinner at a local restaurant for Cassidy's preschool. So we did our duty and headed out even though both girls were pretty beat from a playdate earlier in the day. I was surprised at how well our girls behaved considering how tired they were. So we were pleased enough. Then we headed to the book store after eating to let the girls roam a bit before heading home. We ran into Miss Jane, the teacher. She told us how well Cassidy was doing and that she was just so cute. In fact, it seems that Miss Jane has had to tell several of the older girls in the class that Cassidy is "not a doll." They are trying to 'take care of' Cassidy, helping her with her jacket, shoes, washing her hands etc because they think she's a doll. Thankfully, Miss Jane, informed us, Cassidy has learned to tell the other girls she needs her space, but when she needs some comforting there are plenty of 'friends' around to help her.

I knew I was good...

Well, Mothers & More, a group for mothers (duh) who think there is more (duh) to life than just being a mom was looking for some bloggers, so I applied. Guess what? They picked me! And everyone else who applied, but still, they picked me! So soon I will be linking up to their national site so Moms across the country can check out my blog. Everything here will remain the same, but I will warn both sets of parents, that I might start going a bit edgier and talk a little bit more about me. Hey, they wanted me to blog! Don't worry, the point is that I'm a Mom so it will still focus on the girls, but I have avoided some more personal stuff knowing my audience in the past. Just an FYI. Wish me luck!

Princess of Everything!

Let me start out by saying that today is a day of sickness in our house. 3 out of 4 Noonans seem to be fighting a cold, which means by tonight we should be to 100% sickness. Just in case I make any errors, my brain is checked out.

Cassidy went through a princess phase this fall. She wanted to dress up like a princess, she wanted princess panties. She got plastic high heels and a tiara at Christmas, and loves to wear those heels. How she walks in them I don't know. So you think the "Princess of Everything" would be her. Nope. It's me. I have taken to popping on the tiara while doing my daily duties. You see, doing the dishes, or folding laundry doesn't seem as mundane when you're royalty. I know feel that all women should have a tiara and wear it whenever they see fit. If a man is 'king of his castle' shouldn't the woman be 'queen' or 'princess'? I prefer princess as queens seem to have an older vibe going. Besides, a princess is young and vivacious, just like me. :) So I declare myself "Princess of Everything"! Now to see if I can switch out with Jeremy to get a nap.

Look at me, I'm a scary goat!

Sorry blogging has been sparse as of late. It's mostly because I've been feeling down and don't feel like doing anything. Thankfully, or not, because of the girls I still have to do things, like get out of bed in the morning. We've had almost a week of sunshine, and so guilt has forced me on walks and to draw with chalk. I know, sounds terrible. Keira seems to be a snuggle bunny. She loves to cuddle and to shower me with kisses, and when I say shower it does get you that wet. She comes at you with an open mouth and a big ol' grin. Slobbers on you for a brief second and then pulls away to laugh. It's making Cassidy more snuggly as she's jealous that Keira is sitting in my lap or slobbering on me. Today, Cassidy tried 'quiet time' and it actually worked! We used a kitchen timer, and I told her it would beep when quiet time was over, and sure enough she stayed in her bed and played quietly the entire time. Woohoo! Keira on the other hand, is transitioning to one nap a day, and so today she decided to forget about the afternoon nap. So instead of a quiet 30 minutes, I got screaming, checking on the baby every few minutes. Figures. We had a nice dinner as a family tonight as Jeremy ducked out of work early. Then bath time and time to play. Cassidy loves to pretend that she's whatever is on her hooded towel. So she'll buzz, or ribbit, or hop around for awhile. Tonight after she did that, she waved her arms around with the towel flowing behind and said, "Look at me, I'm a scary goat" Jeremy got it, and corrected her. "You're a ghoST?" "Yeah, ghost. Woooo." Watch out, I have an idea for next Halloween!

The real benefit of early to bed

Was it Ben Franklin who said, Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy and wise? So what happens when it's your kids who are early to bed? Well, as you have read many times in my blogs, my children are extremely wise, and very healthy. But then, what happens to the parents? You think we would be too. Well, perhaps so if didn't act like kids ourselves. We've been watching movies and playing video games. It doesn't get much better than that. Ok, so the laundry is piling up and the toilets could use a scrub. At least the kids are ok!

Why I hate parenting magazines

Robyn, a mother of two in Redmond, WA (Cassidy almost 3 and Keira 13 months), is having a rough day with the kids. It started when she woke up tired, continued through fussing baby at grocery store, middled in construction traffic picking up preschooler and had almost ended with both kids screaming their heads off while Daddy is 30 minutes late leaving work. A few suggestions for this mother at wits end to finish her day on a better note. 1) Call a girlfriend and hit the town. 2) Recharge by taking a bath...alone. or 3) Write a saracastic blog and hope to vent some steam.
Option 1. Thanks for the reminder that I don't have any girlfriends since we've moved across the country. I was feeling tired and slightly depressed before, and now I am feeling even worse b/c I haven't made the time to make some girlfriends. I have met people, but no one that I can call and say let's go out now, or for that matter, that I would want to hang out with.
Option 2. Started the water at a nice hot temperature. No babies getting in here. Considered putting on jets, but realized that would require remvoing the bath crayon from one of the jets and cleaning the tub better. Pulled out some nice chocolates. Got in and turned off the water. *aahhhh* No that wasn't my sighing at the heat loosening my muscles, that was the sound of Cassidy screaming at her Dad. Oh, and is that Keira chiming in too. Yes. Dig in to the chocolates. Nice Belgian chocolates, no 3 Musketeers tonight. Although by the time I'm done, I would have been better off with one 3 Musketeers instead of eating the ENTIRE set of Belgian chocolates. Do I hear the dog getting yelled at too? Something about him peeing in the house. So much for recharging!
Option 3. Sarcastic, check. Vented, check.

Sunny Days

Amazingly we had a beautiful sunny day here yesterday. Yes, in Seattle! Then amazingly it was sunny today too. Woohoo! So after preschool I called up Jeremy and we had a picnic lunch at the park. Cassidy has really grown in her ability to play with other kids. She is not as timid. So she had a great time going down the slide. I realize that I really need to get Keira some shoes for outside now that she's walking. She was all right today hanging out with Mom and Dad, but that won't last long. All afternoon she did laps around living room and upstairs. Any time she would plop down, she would get back up instead of crawling. No more of that baby stuff.

Cassidy Soup for the Soul

I have been feeling a bit down lately, so today I decided I should make some chicken noodle soup. Not from a can, but from the odds and ends of chicken and veggies and stuff I had lying around the fridge. I enlisted the help of Cassidy since Keira was taking a nap. Now it's not so much that I needed her help, but that if I don't have her helping, she's more hurting the process. So I started by chopping up some onion and putting it into the pot. Well, Cassidy thought that was pretty cool. So I chopped celery and carrot, put it into a bowl and then she added them to the pot. Everytime we added a new ingredient I would ask her what was in the soup now. She always knew, and never even forgot the garlic which you couldn't really see. She helped me shred the chicken too, although she ate more than she shred, and finally helped me add pasta. Then I decided we needed hearty bread to go with our soup. So we headed out and got a nice loaf from the bread store (and some scones I can't wait to try). When Daddy got home, Cassidy was happy to tell him about making "Cassidy Soup". She had already told me she didn't like chicken noodle, but she readily attempted to eat her "Cassidy Soup". Well, it's a good thing she had eaten all the chicken earlier. Although Keira happily finished Cassidy's bowl, plus part of my bowl, and a slice of bread!

Keira's walking!

Keira has earned the title of 'walker'. I decided to give it to her on January 21st, 2005. (Sorry it didn't get blogged sooner. But mood dictates some of my writing.) It was easy with Cassidy, she just let go and was off. No more interest in crawling at all. Keira is doing things her way and she still thinks crawling is great fun. So she has been teetering along and then will drop and crawl, so I haven't called it walking. She's still dropping to a crawl quite a bit, but she has made a change. She now walks when holding something in her hand. That to me was worthy of the title 'walker'. Now I just have to start potty training her. LOL!!

All powerful Moms and make-up

It's another two story blog. Sorry, folks, but I don't have the chance to write every day. Besides it makes for interesting titles. :) On Friday Jeremy had an appointment so I had to take Cassidy to school. Things were going well, until we turned a corner and the sun came pouring into the car. Well, Cassidy has no tolerance for sun in her eyes. "Aaahh! You turned the sun on Mom!" Do you know how hard it is to not laugh at that?? "The sun came out from behind the clouds." "No! You turned the sun on!" "I wish I had that power, Cassidy, but I can't turn the sun on." "Yes, you did. You turned the sun on." So perhaps Cassidy is buying into the idea that 'Mom' knows all, sees all, and can yes even control the sun. Let's hope. LOL
Friday night also happens to be 'date night'. When Jeremy and I escape the house of fussing children and hit the town. Usually dinner, as movie times haven't been working out well for us lately. Last night I decided that I should put forth some effort and actually put on make-up. Cassidy was watching me, and I had to answer all the "Why" questions of a toddler. So after awhile (10 minutes of non-stop pleading) I gave Cassidy an old blusher and brush so she could put on make-up too. She did look awful cute with rosy cheeks. All was fine until this morning when she wanted to put on MORE make-up. "No, Cassidy. See, Mommy isn't wearing make-up today. It's a no make-up day." "NO!! I need make-up. It makes me pretty!!" Amazing what kids pick up from a conversation you are just getting through to finish your date preparation.

Life is but a ... stream?

Cassidy has a unique take on song lyrics. For example, "Row, row, row your boat, Life is but a stream." When you think of it, that makes much more sense. Life is a stream for us. Sometimes we run fast, sometimes we bubble along, but always moving. Cassidy is really liking preschool, and I would like to be enjoying my free mornings more, but I keep fighting off whatever colds that Cassidy is bringing home. The change in her schedule has caused more sleep issues, so that Jeremy and I are on edge from lack of sleep. Keira is a wonderful copy cat and learned how to do an ear piercing screaming screech that would make your ears bleed, except our ears are immune thanks to Cassidy. So we are rowing along.

Go Pats!

We had the other Cassidy and her parents over today to watch the playoff game. The New England Patriots thankfully beat the Colts easily so we didn't need to watch the game too closely. The Cassidy's played together very well, and Keira took a nice long nap in the middle of things. It was just a nice day, even if we didn't do a lot. Keira did manage to sneak out about 7 steps, but she is still taking her time. She's not a runner like Cassidy. Perhaps she won't bounce as much either. LOL. Although I doubt it.

Bye-bye

Keira had her year exam the day after her birthday. Is she walking yet? No, but any day. Is she talking yet? No, but she does make sounds. Suddenly I started to feel a little behind. We get home and Cassidy and she start playing. They are working on the puzzle Cassidy got for Christmas. It has fish with magnets that you fish out of the puzzle. Very cute. Keira is sitting there using the rod to dangle the magnet over the fish and pull up the fish from the puzzle. Wait a minute?! That's pretty complex stuff. Then I think back to Christmas when Cassidy got a doll that takes a bottle to stop her crying and I realize that Keira has been giving the doll her bottle. Well, all that walking and talking stuff might be over-rated when you consider my child's problem solving skills. :) Then she surprised us the next day by saying bye-bye and waving back to us when we said bye-bye. She's made the 'buh' sound before, and with babies they usually repeat the sound several times. So I think she's known this one for awhile, but just made it real obvious that she does know what she's talking about. "Bye-bye"

Look at My New Shoes

Jeremy's Mum has a story about when she was a little girl she got a new pair of shoes. Some friends had come over for a visit and she decided to show off her new shoes, and came down wearing her shoes...and nothing else. Today, we picked Cassidy up some rain boots. She has been putting them on and taking them off all by herself this morning. This afternoon we had some friends come over. Remember the other Cassidy?? Well, looks like we're getting along swimmingly. About 5 minutes after they left, Cassidy jumped into the living room wearing her new rain boots...and nothing else. Jeremy and I had quite the laugh, and then another laugh as we recalled his Mum's story. Like Nana, like Cassidy I guess.

Happy Meals

Okay, this is like the 20th blog that mentions McDonald's. I'm not sure what it is, but McDonald's causes Cassidy to say/do the funniest things. I was never the all organic type of Mom, and I don't think I'm too bad when it comes to fast food. Really, whatever it is they put in the food there makes my daughter funny. Look into that FDA! So here it is, the story of the Happy Meal.

We had Keira's 1st year doctor visit today, and after we wanted to run to Target to get Cassidy some slippers for her preschool class (no shoes inside the classroom). So we decided to swing by McDonald's on the way there. Jeremy places the order, "A number 5 meal with diet coke. Chicken Selects. And a Happy Meal with chicken and apple juice." Seems easy enough. Some questions about whether the toy was for a boy or girl, and we were off. As we cruise towards Target Cassidy calls from the backseat, "Mommy, you are having a Mean Meal and Daddy you are having a Sad Meal." Excuse me? Did she just say that? Jeremy, "Is that because you're having a Happy Meal?" "Uh-huh." So beware consumer, only one 'Happy' meal per car. Although I think I like the Mean Meal better than the Sad Meal.

Happy Birthday Keira!

Keira turned one today, but without much ado. We are recovering from colds, and I have it the worst. So no cake, no ice cream, just a rousing hoarse chorus of Happy Birthday at breakfast this morning. Jeremy determined that we should celebrate this weekend when all are feeling better. The big news is that Cassidy started preschool on Monday. When I walked her into the classroom, the teacher prompted Cassidy to say "Goodbye to mommy". Cassidy waved at me and turned her back without looking back. What a trooper! The weather has turned quite cold and her first day we didn't send her with her thick jacket. I wasn't too worried until I was in the parent orientation and found out that they head outside to play, a quick look at my watch and I realized she had been playing outside for 30 minutes. uh-oh. Bu the time I got out of the meeting, it had been 45 minutes in the 30 something day. She was a little ice-pop!! Today she had her jacket and was much happier.

Viva Las Vegas! and Paris?

The whole fam headed into the desert to celebrate Christmas. And I mean the WHOLE fam. Jeremy's parents flew out and we all stayed with my parents at their new digs. I was expecting some warmer weather, but it was chilly (my parents claimed it was a dry cold, lol). On the big day my grandpa (the girls great-grandpa), my aunt and my cousin came in too. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone and watching the girls. My parents sent Jeremy and I along with his parents on a helicopter ride into the grand canyon. It was awesome! http://homepage.mac.com/chrisnoonan/PhotoAlbum45.html
That night Jeremy and I headed into town on our own. We started at Bellagio, which was fantastic, then crossed the street to Paris. We decided to grab some dinner, but had to wait 45 minutes for a table. Well, what are you going to do? So we sat down at some nickel slots. We each put in a dollar, but upon realizing you need $2 to bet all the lines, we put in 20's. Well, I doubled up pretty quick, and Jeremy was steadily losing. 5 minutes had passed. So we cashed out and decided to look for something else to do. That's when I saw it. The Tiki Torch slot machine seemed to be calling my name. We walked over, and Jeremy announced it was a penny slot. Oh. We did a walk around, but I thought no, let's play it anyway. $40 in a penny slot. That should kill another 30 minutes. The credits were in, and I hit bet max. That's when something strange happened. Three little pearls lined up, and there were free spins, and the winnings started adding up as I pressed the automatic spin button, and 'coins' started shooting out of the image on the screen. Jeremy announced I had one $10. Wow. But the thing was still spinning it's free spins, and then I had more free spins, and more coins and Jeremy is laughing in my ear. I hear him say, "$1, $10, $2, $10" He's reading off the winnings from all the lines that won. The next thing I know, we're looking at the winnings count, which is much higher than my credits remaining. In fact, it says over $100. But it's still spinning. I'm just laughing at this point. There was well over $300 by the time it was done. Jeremy asked, "You want to cash out?" I wanted to, but I had only pushed 2 buttons! I made a couple more spins because I felt like I should. And cashed out with $321.50. Not bad for penny slots! We then headed to the gift store, got me a t-shirt, and had a fabulous dinner and still had plenty left over. So if you ever make it to Las Vegas, head to the Paris and find my penny Tiki Torch slots machine. It needs some more deposits for my next trip out!

Going to school?

Cassidy went to her new preschool yesterday for an 'assesment'. She passed with flying colors. But when she walked into the classroom without me, my heart started to break ever so slightly. At least the crack started so that I am going to be very thankful to have Jeremy with me on her first official day, so someone can hand me tissues. It's a great Montessori school, and they have a great playground with a few goats, chickens and a duck. I'm sure Cassidy will have a blast.

Hanging with the Cassidy's

Yesterday was a very rainy day that meant no trips to the park, but we did get in touch with the other Cassidy's parents. They gave us an invite to come over for some food and drink last night along with some of their other friends. Our Cassidy proclaimed, "I want to go to the other Cassidy's house, and I want to go in the wagon, and she will say, 'Wow! You came to my house in a wagon.'" So we decided that was a good way to go since the clouds had finally cleared. All the kids played and seemed to get along well. No screaming fits, and only one person cried because of toy swipping. The parents all hung out in the kitchen and just ate on munchies and had a few drinks. Well, Jeremy had water, and Robyn had 2.5 glasses of wine. It was over several hours, and I didn't feel it until I got home. Thankfully Keira went down easily and Jeremy got Cassidy down without much trouble. We had adult conversation and talked about the kids with them. It was a nice mix. Hostess even pulled out a camera to take pictures of our Cassidy. I'm guessing she wanted proof to show family and friends. When Keira started fussing at 6:30 on the dot (her bedtime) every one was talking about getting together again after the new year. Woohoo!

How to start your own business in one week

Once we moved to Washington we realized why fleece is so popular out here. A) It's cold. B) It rains. We had some problems going for walks with Cassidy though. She would always kick off her blanket and it would fall under stroller getting caught up in wheels or dragged through puddles. Makes it so you don't want to put it on your baby anymore. So I came up with a "sock" to put over her that wouldn't fall off. I was so amazed that I couldn't find what I wanted in the stores. Well, Jeremy and I talked about trying to make it and how we could sell it, etc. Then we were moving into our house and then oops! 'out of commission' for the next year. Well, this fall, I busted out Cassidy's old "sock" for Keira. Again, amazed that no one had put it out there yet. So on Tuesday I whipped up a new and improved version. Which caused Jeremy to REALLY start talking about how to get them on market. I threw out the ever optimistic, "Yeah, but how do you find the place to make them and to do all the stuff that needs to get done?" Well, I threw down the gauntlet and Jeremy took the challenge. We have a web site reserved, a trademark registered, samples coming from fleece and tag companies, pricing for sewing contracts, and packaging options. How did this happen?? I'll post a link and some pictures soon. And I expect everyone to order one for every baby and pregnant woman they know!

Cassidy meet ... Cassidy?

So quite an amazing thing happened just over a week ago, but I keep forgetting to blog it. And when I say quite amazing, I'm not kidding.
I needed to get out of the house, and since the weather was awful, we thought to try McDonald's so Cassidy could play on the playland (see previous blog about when we finally got there). Well, apparently it was an early release day for all the schools, so Mickey D's was like a zoo. We just hit the road and ended up at a park near Jeremy's work. As we headed towards playground a little girl who looked around Cassidy's age, started running towards us. Her Mom said she was excited by the prospect of a playmate. So I prompted them to start conversation and Cassidy said, "I'm Cassidy. What's your name?" The other girl replied, "Cassidy". We looked at her Mom, and she said, "Did she say Cassidy?" "Yes" "Wait, her name is Cassidy too?" "Yes"
Well the Cassidy's started to climb on the equipment and us Mom's got to talking about the girls. How our Cassidy will turn 3 in February. At which the other Mom asked, "What day?" "The 21st" Turns out her Cassidy turns 3 on the 23rd!! Well folks, buckle your seat belts because we're just getting started.
Other Mom, "So where do you live?" "Education Hill" Other Mom, "Yeah..." "Abbey Road subdivision." "Yeah.... We live on 108th" "We live on 110th, which I think turns into 108th if you follow it around." Turns out she has also had a hard time meeting people besides a few neighbors. She also found a similar problem with her neighbors that we have, NOSY! Other things in common: She was on her way to be in her best friends wedding, and I just got back from doing that. I mentioned we were in Hawaii, they were there in April. Her mother lives outside of Boston, just like Jeremy's parents.
We are anxiously awaiting their return so we can get together with them. It's a small world after all.

Cassidy at McDonald's Playland

I was feeling under the weather today, and thankfully Jeremy took the day off of work to take care of his 3 girls. I decided I wanted 'bad' food for lunch so we figured McDonald's would be good. Plus they have an indoor playland so Cassidy could go down slides and generally run around and have fun. We were the first ones there, and Cassidy took awhile to venture in to the tunnels. Then more and more kids started to arrive. At first, Cassidy would just yell, "Daddy" and hope he would chase them away. It seems that she thought that this playland was ALL hers. After several attempts, she finally went in again, and actually played a little bit with some of the other kids. Then a few more seasoned playland 'vetrans' arrived. Well, they could tell Cassidy was a little more timid, so if she was starting to go for the entrance they would race around her and scoot on up before she could make it there. After one boy really cut her off, Cassidy made a disgruntled, "argh!" turned to us and said, "I'm very frustrated!" Then took off and in for one last time down the slide. Needless to say, Jeremy and I were laughing, and I'm pretty sure the other parents were green with envy that our little 'princess' not only put her emotions into words, but had such vocabulary to boot!

Operation: Sleep through the night

After Keira pulled an alarming wake up 3 times in one night, and since Jeremy always brings her in to me if he goes to check on her, we had to come up with a new plan of attack. We decided to go with the 'extinction' method. Sounds hard-core and tough because it is. We knew that Keira could handle it though. So after putting her down for the night, we closed her door, instead of leaving it open like we normally do. That way when she woke up at 2:30 am her screaming wouldn't be too loud for us or her sister. After 5 minutes, all was quiet. Then at 3:30 am, she tried a second attack. This time Jeremy broke down and went in, but he only returned her pacifer and was out of there. About 10 minutes later, all was quiet again. 6:45 am, which has been her too early wake up time the last 2 weeks, which was another reason we decided to stop with the waking up at night, she's sleeping like a baby. Of course, Cassidy woke up then. Keeping our fingers crossed that last night was the worst of it.

Batteries

It's amazing how quickly kids learn. Cassidy understood at about 18 months that if a toy wasn't working, that it probably needed batteries. So it's not surprising, that she tells me when a toy needs batteries. Yet, she surprised me yesterday. She was playing her harmonica and pulled away a little bit so the sound sort of went soft. Suddenly she looked up and said, "Mommy, this needs new batteries." "Really?" She puffed in half-heartedly and the harmonica made a squeally sort of sound. "Yes, it needs batteries."