Two Blues and a Pink

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Sunday Scrapbooking (5/8)

Just got one for you this week. Sorry. lol It’s been a busy and uncreative week for me.

Well… actually that’s a slight lie. I got two done this week, I’m just not going to be able to show you the other one for a nice good while.

made with Valorie Wibbens and Jacque Larsen's Happily Ever After collab; alphas all by Shawna Clingerman
journaling font - Darcy Baldwin's DJB Boy V Girl
(This page was also featured on The Gallery Standouts Blog. “Finger Pointing: May 4”)

Come back by tomorrow for some pictures and stories about Mother’s Day.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Saturday Snapshots (5/7)

(taken with my phone during today’s picnic on his class’ field trip)

Thursday, May 5, 2011

An early Mother’s Day note.

I found this sitting on my desk this morning after taking the boys to school, and despite the occasional poor spelling, it just melts my heart.

(“My mom makes my frafret (favorite) food. I llike (like) my mom becus she is nis (nice). My mom helps me weth (with) my homewrke (homework). I love my mom.
from Zac
to mom”)

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

A big girl “bed”

After one unsuccessful attempt at getting Belly out of a crib in January we hadn’t tried again. I say unsuccessful because after listening to her cry for just a little while John vetoed the idea saying she obviously wasn’t ready and we’d try again after she was 2. My mother is giving us my little sister’s beautiful old bed, but we need to get it soon since they don’t really have room to store an extra bed somewhere. So I’ve been preparing Belly’s room for the removal of her crib and old dresser (she’s getting one from my parents also) and getting it cleaned and organized for a child who will now be able to get out of her bed whenever she wants.

I finally finished yesterday before naptime so to prepare Belly for the new bed I went ahead and took the side off her crib. (it converts to a toddler bed) She did really good with it during nap yesterday. No screaming or crying, and she even took a nap in it (albeit a very short one). With confidence I went ahead and kept the side off at bedtime also… seeing as how John didn’t know it was off, and would be busy at a Cub Scouts meeting with Zach when the time would come to put Belly to bed. She did… OK. She wouldn’t stay in bed, and kept getting down and playing. Right about the time it came for me to put Ryan to bed (about 20 minutes before John and Zach were due home) Belly started the screaming and crying. I put Ryan to bed then went in with Belly to calm her and try to get her back in bed. Yeah… nothing I tried worked. I got her calmed down, but she refused to lay down on the bed. I could get her to sit and cuddle with me on it, but even when she started dozing the minute I would lay her on the bed she started screaming. I was going a little crazy, and to make matters worse, John was due home any minute and if he heard her screaming he would postpone the switch again.

Finally I remember something from when Zach was switching from a crib to a bed. Zach spent that first month sleeping on the floor next to his bed, because he also screamed and cried at the idea of sleeping on it. I pulled out Belly’s sleeping bag, laid it on the floor right next to her bed, put her pig and favorite baby on it, along with her pillow and favorite blanket. And she laid right down on it. I laid next to her and then when John got home (after giving me a “Oh my gosh… really?!” look) laid down with us. We both stayed with her for 15 minutes then John got up and told her it was time for her to go night-night. I stayed with her for another 15 minutes hoping she would go to sleep. I kept pretending I was asleep to try get her to understand it was time for her to sleep. Unfortunately once she decided I was asleep she got up and started playing quietly. I walked over kissed her goodnight and left her room. But… she didn’t scream or cry.

Around 10 we finally stopped hearing her playing and so we peeked in… and she was laying on her sleeping bag, finally, asleep. I started to take a picture, but John told me not to push my luck with the flash.

I did get a picture of her this morning though when I went to get her up.

Here’s to hoping that tonight goes semi-well also.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

A 6 Year Old and a 5 Year Old’s Views on Genetics

A conversation between Zach, Ryan, and I on the way home from school.

Z “Mom, today I learned that I’m made of parts of everyone in my family.”

me “Really? Did you learn what it was called?”

Z “Um gen-something. But you know what it is, right?”

me “Genetics.”

Z “Yeah! My teacher said we’re made up from parts of our family we live with. Like you and Daddy and Ryan and Bella.”

R “What about Scarlet? She lives with us.”

Z “Nooo. Scarlet’s a dog. People aren’t made from dogs.”

R “Well, I want to be made out of part of Scarlet, not you.”

me “Technically, you are only made out of pieces of…”

Z “Ryan, you don’t get to pick who you’re made of!”

R “Uh-huh and I pick not to be made out of you!”

Z “No! You can’t do that! We both have brown eyes like Daddy so we’re made out of him.”

R “No! I have different brown eyes! Not your brown eyes!”

Z “And I have red hair like Mommy so I’m made out of her.”

R “Wait.. what about me? How am I made out of Mommy?”

(see Zach look over at Ryan)

Z “Huh, you don’t have red hair so I guess you’re not made out of her.”

R “MOMMY!! Zach said I’m not made out of you!”

Monday, May 2, 2011

Drip, drop. Jump, stomp.

Rain, rain, rain.

You just gotta love the spring here, it’s either fluctuating between being in the 50s to mid-80s, or it’s raining. And it rains a lot. Technically we still have another month to go and there’s flooding already. Not to mention the tornado warnings and watches. Oh my gosh…. it feels like I spend at least 6 out of every 7 days under not just a tornado watch but also a warning. I think I should just record the city’s sirens and play them constantly all day in hopes of desensitizing myself to them so that they hopefully quit giving me raging headaches every time they go off. (Cause a raging headache is just what you need under stressful situations)

Potentially dangerous weather aside, my grass is getting sooo tall. In the past 3 weeks it hasn’t stopped raining long enough for our yard to dry out so we can cut the grass. My backyard is getting scary tall. Who knows, give it another week and I should be able to lose Belly and Scarlet in it.

Speaking of Belly….
I would love to tell you a story about my daughter’s contrariness. Miss Belly has decided she hates hates hates baths and showers. She stands rigidly and screams “GET OUT NOW!” at the top of her lungs the whole time. Try to put her out in the backyard with the sprinkler she stands where it barely reaches her then starts screaming if she gets too wet. HOWEVER… my daughter absolutely loves playing in the rain. Light rain to huge storms; she loves being out in it. She’ll stand at the backdoor begging to go out in it.

Yesterday after the latest of our many tornado warnings finished I let her go out to play in the light rain and puddles. She had so much fun splashing and jumping and stomping in the puddles. We had some spots that were 4 – 6 inches deep, so the puddles and mud were plentiful. We were out there for like 45 minutes when she decided to pick some slugs up and bring them to me. (Not a shocking thing for her to do since she loves to hunt for and bring me worms) Unlike with worms, this mommy will start going “Ewww! Gross!! Put those down!!!” to slugs. And instead of putting them down, my lovely daughter looked up at me smiled, then proceeded to rub the slugs into her hair and laugh her head off. (ewww…) I had to bribe the girl with chocolate to get her back in the house so I could wash her hair.

And no… I was too busy being grossed out by the slugs to take any pictures of them. lol But I did get a bunch of her splashing in the puddles. Here’s my favorite.