He Likes It!

Didn't I say that Matthew would love the new carseat? Well, he does. He'd be happy with a box. But then again, so would Natalie. Crazy Kids! Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Our Park Day

Here are some photos from our day out to "Nathan's Park" last weekend. It was all fun and games until Natalie threw sand in some boys face! Oops! I don't think she meant to. This was a little boy with whom she had made friends with earlier in the day. She was so excited to play that she got a little wild and, well. . . the boy had a delicious snack of sand. She apologized and we moved on to the swings. Boy, sometimes it's tough to be three.

Ouch

Today I took Nat and Matthew to the park. Nat specifically wanted to go to Nathan's park even though we wouldn't be meeting Natahn there. Why? She asked. I had to explain that Nathan had something to do and we would see him another time. I think she misses him because when I was off track we had quite a few outings and play dates. As it goes, I like that park better than ours anyway. Our park has an oldm metal apparatus that is way too big and dangerous looking. Nathan's park has two sturdy plastic ones. One is a smaller size which is perfect. Although, I do let her on the big one too.

Anyway, as I was getting out of the car with Matthew's carseat - he was asleep so I wanted him to stay asleep - I missed the curb and fell holding a good 40 pounds of baby and carseat. But me, being the mother lioness, did not drop the baby. Instead, I held tight to that carseat and kept it upright as I slammed my left calf on the curb and then fell back on my bottom. Matthew fluttered his eys, looked at me, and went back to sleep. I sheepishly, got up with an, "I'm okay," bound, all the while thinking, "Ow!" I have quite a bruise and it is a bit swollen but my baby is okay and we had fun at the park. I am so clumsy!!!

How to Lose Two Pounds (at least) in One Day

The answer is simple,my friends. A nice strong dose of the stomach flu will do it. And it will swear you off food for a few more days so you might even lose more. Ugh!

I Got Rocks

The week before Halloween we went to visit Grandpa John (affectionately known as Grandpa with the Black Hair) and Loretta. Loretta had asked Natalie about Halloween and if she was going to go trick or treating. Natalie said, "Yes, and I am not going to get any rocks." She had been watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and had learned a little about disappointment. She was not at all disappointed on Halloween. You can tell that from mine and Ryan's previous blogs. Halloween was a success.

She won't be disappointed on Christmas, either. She is really easily impressed. Last year all she wanted from Santa was a small, purple present. Santa could have brought her one thing - which he didn't - but he could have, and she would have been happy. This year there is quite a bit on her Christmas list. I took her to Toys R Us last week and everything she saw, she liked, and said, "I am going to put this on my Christmas list." And although I did take her to the "greatest toy store there is," like I said, she won't be disappointed because she is really grounded when it comes to toys. Although, when we were talking about Thanksgiving, she did say she was thankful for her toys! Hmmmm. No, she's appreciatvie.

Anyway, what about little Matthew. He's about to have his first birthday and his second Christmas. Last year Christmas came and went. He slept through it! This is what he's getting for his birthday. And this too.

Do you think that he'll be disappointed? Will he remember his first birthday and Christmas as the year he got "rocks?" In all fairness, he does like carseats.



Oh, and for Christmas he gets another carseat since he needs two. I don't think he'll be disappointed. And I just hope he likes the Elmo TMX Santa is bringing him.

Mmmmm!

Matthew is such a good eater. Natalie sure was picky. She's getting better, but is still pretty picky. Matthew will try anything. Tonight he had chicken, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, and mixed veggies. What a good boy! He has developed a fondness for avacados. Nat won't even try them. He likes them so much that when he saw me pull one out for Ryan he started to cry for it. I planned on giving him just a bit but he ate the whole half (does that make sense?)! And this was after he had already eaten dinner and had a cookie in his hand. "Forget the cookie, Mom. I want an avacado." On a side note, Natalie chose a pear for her bedtime snack tonight. Yay, my kids are eating healthy.

I Really Thought I was Cool

I did, really. At least in the eyes of a three year old and sometimes an eight year old. (My students usually think I am pretty cool). I must not be cool because I am not stylish, according to Natalie. Where did she get that word?! Today we went to Target for our usual Target stuff. She made a beeline for the Barbie aisle, the dress-up aisle, the make-up aisle, and the hair aisle! I bought her a little purple lip balm. Then when we got home she said, "Mommy, I have to get stylish," and proceeded to paint her fingernails with her play glitter nail polish. Later, I asked her if I was stylish. "No, Mommy, but I can make you stylish." She then painted my fingernails. "Am I stylish now?" I asked. "No, Mommmy. Let me do you stylish." She put her play lip gloss on my lips and then the purple lip balm. "Am I stylish yet?" I asked again. "Not yet, Mommy. You need these." She gave me some jewelry. I guess I don't wear enough jewelry. (Tell that to your Daddy, Natalie.) She was even able to finish my sentence when I said, "You are turning into a little fashion . . ." "Girl!" Oh my, she is only three. We already disagree on what to wear at times.

Too Bad

I was rooting for Joey. Too bad.

And Today?

Today I got ice cream. Two bowls of it. Don't worry, I only ate one. I think I am well liked.

Wow!

There is an old saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away," or "an apple for the teacher." Well, how about a fish? What do they say about that? Today I received quite an unusual gift from a student. You gotta love third graders. Talk about genuine, sincere, and sweet. One of my students was so super excited to give me his gift that he tracked me down before school even started this morning. He brought me fish. Yes, fish! Fresh, frozen, caught from the local lake,gutted and cleaned fish. Four of them. Very big ones. Fish that he, himself caught while fishing with his dad. No heads, thank goodness. Right now you might be thinking, "ew." But, really it was very sweet and he was so excited. I don't know of any other teacher who has received something that unusual before. And special . . .he caught it himself! Aw! Let me tell you, I will definately remember this gift. Now, how do you prepare trout?

And the Excitement Builds . . .Who Will Win?

Who will win what? Why Dancing With the Stars of course! I really enjoyed tonights program. I really should have taped it for Natalie. She loves the quick step and would have enjoyed Joey's performance! I thought all the contestants were good tonight. It's tough to say who will go. But, I think that Joey and Mario will be in the finale. Maybe I am a little biased, though. Although, I think Emmet is pretty good too. And now I am thinking, what on Earth will I watch on Tuesdays once this show is over?

Who gets your vote?

Random Photos

I thought this was a nice photo of Matthew and Grandpa John.


Getting ready to carve the pumpkin on the night before Halloween. Cute shirt, Matthew! Thanks, Nana!



Hmm, what should I do with this?



Eat it, I guess.



And this is totally unrelated to Halloween, but it was taken in October. It's just cute!

Halloween

I was utterly exhausted by the time I got home from work, but I could not disappoint. Yes, I did dress up for work. The kids always like it when you do. I called Natalie at lunch time and asked her if she was excited about dressing up and going trick or treating. She said, "Yes, Mommy, and I am going to be a beautiful princess and you are going to wear your costume that you wore to work today." I asked, "You want me to dress up too?" "Yes, Mommy." So, I went out in costume too. At one point I must have looked pretty silly because I was carrying Matthew's pumpkin while he was lounging in the stroller. Overall, he was not impressed by Halloween. In fact, the photos of Matthew in costume by himself were taken the following morning at 5:00 A.M. I dressed him up in his costume again for some pictures. He was still not impressed. Natalie, on the other hand, loved it. For more of our Halloween events, check out Ryan's site.

Here are some photos.


This was the extent of what Matthew wanted to do for Halloween.


Natalie loved passing out candy. Notice the gumballs, ready to pass out, on the chair.


Posing before we headed out to trick or treat.



Matthew in his cat costume.

Keep Your Babies Safe

My sister gave me a new booster seat for Natalie a while back. We were just waiting for her to hit thirty pounds and turn three. A couple of weeks ago I had Ryan put it in. We were about to go to the pumpkin patch and as I was getting Nat in the car, I noticed that it just used the seatbelt. I told Ryan that I did not feel comfortable using that seat for her at this point in time and he took it out and replaced it with her old 5 point harness one. We were late meeting our friends at the pumpkin patch, but it was worth it. I am sure that Le Anne thinks so too, because she sent me this video clip. This video clip will convince you too. And this one too. Right now we are looking for a new carseat for either Natalie or Matthew. I kept Natalie rear facing until she was fourteen months old. I plan to keep Matthew rear facing for quite a while now. Thanks Le Anne.