Finally!

Today was the day. Those of you who picked Monday for the day B would notice her beloved fish was gone, are the winners!!!

This morning we were sitting on the couch (just under the location of the fishbowl) talking about pets B would really like to have. Such as a chinchilla, or a bunny. I did not say a thing. The pet talked must have triggered a memory about her real pet. She looked up to the mantel and asked,"Where is Abbott?" My reply was,"He died a week ago. I was wondering if you would ever notice." She did not cry, but did get a little quiet. Then asked," What happened?" I told her I just found him not breathing one night after I had put her to bed. And that was about it. No tears, no nothing. She did say that she did not want another fish. "Good, 'cuz you are not getting one." I only hope that if and when we get a dog and it dies she is a little faster on the noticing part.

Well now that fun is over, guess I have to find something else to find amusing. That should take only a few minutes in this house.

Snapshot Sunday

Quickly...

There have been no new advancement on the fish noticing. Yup, B still has not noticed that the fish is gone. How can this be? The fish was right on the mantel in the living room. Perhaps it was lack of food instead of clean water that killed our fish. Oh wait that can't be. I fed the fish, not B. This is really bugging me too. I want to tell her, but then again, I do think it is funny that she has not noticed this. Seriously, how long can this go on?

Watch Out Handy Manny

One of A's favorite shows is Handy Manny. For those who have yet to view this one, it is a guy named Manny, who fixes all sorts of things in town with his talking tools. A loves to sing the songs and more than anything she loves to pretend she is Manny. We have a play tool box that she carries around with her and fixes all sorts of things in the house. It is really cute. She hammers, screws, even measures.

Yesterday I replaced the light fixture in the dinning room while A was napping. When she woke up she noticed the new light hanging and then found the mother load. The old chandelier was just sitting out on the back porch. Sounds like something is broken and needs to be fixed! Down she ran to the basement to get her tools.

Just a little tap here...

tighten things up here...

One more bang, and that should do it.

She worked on the light for a while. It was fun to watch her using all her tools. She is definitely my daughter (and my dad's granddaughter).

Fish Update

So the first entire day of no Abbott and B has not noticed yet. I did think about telling her a few times, but I like the idea of seeing how long it takes her to notice. Yeah, I'm thinking she was not so in love with this fish huh?

Fish Is Down

I noticed a few days ago that B's fish was not looking so good. (I'm sure it had nothing to do with Aunt Vic cleaning the bowl last time) Well as I came down the steps last night I knew something was wrong. Yep, poor old Abbot was no longer swimming. Well to be honest he does not swim all that much. He tends to lie around on the bottom until one taps on the bowl. Then he rushes up to the top. So I tapped, and tapped, and tried some food. No luck. Abbott did not swim about. Then looking a little harder I noticed there was no gill movement. Yup, this would prove to me that the reason he was no longer swimming was because he was no longer breathing. He was dead. I quickly got rid of the fish and all fish items. B was in bed for the night when I made this discovery, so I decided not to go tell her. I figured it could wait till morning. It is now morning and she has yet to notice the missing bowl and fish. I think now I will wait to see how long it takes her to see that it is missing. My plan is to NOT get another one. I fell for this last time and I do not plan to fall for the "I will take care of it" again. On the other hand, I have recently heard that hermit crabs might be the way to go :)

Super Girl

This is A's newest thing. She takes my reddish pajama shirt and puts her arms through the neck then through the arm holes. By doing this is looks like a cape on her. She is now SUPER GIRL! She then makes us cry out for help and she comes to the rescue. She flies around the house and loves to see herself in the mirror or her reflection on the tv. It is so funny. The fun ends when it is time for me to get ready for bed and I have no idea where my shirt is.

Seriously?

I found these high heels today while reading the GoodyBlog. There is actually a company that not only thought this idea up, but has manufactured these crib shoes and is selling them. Then to top that, there is a list of stores around the country that actually sells them! These Heelarious shoes are made for babies and are not for walking on. They really are just crib type shoes. Yes I too find them funny, and would even find myself buying them(perhaps) as a joke baby shower gift. But then again why? Do I really need to buy high heels for my newborn? Are our girls today not growing up fast and slutty enough already? If my daughter wants heels I'd rather have her walk around in mine.

Room Reveal

All Alone

As of 9:00 this morning I am officially alone for the next 3 hours!!!! The girls have been dropped off at camp. A was super excited, B not so much. It helped a lot for B to see a girl in her group that she knew, especially since the rest of the group was boys. A ran right to her counselor and gave her a big hug, No separation anxiety with her. She can't wait to "play games and have fun like big sister."

So now I ask myself...What to do? What to do? I was planning to grocery shop with out children, but when I walked into my quiet house I thought "No way am I going grocery shopping right now. I have 3 hours to get it done." So I sat down at the computer to check email and blogs. I will be taking a shower shortly. I went for a long bike ride this morning and am not so fresh. It will be great to shut the door and not keep an ear open for screams and tears. I also will be able to take my time shaving my legs. A told me yesterday that she did not want to sit on my spiky legs. That is what she calls it when the stubble begins to grow. I guess when it is on her little soft legs it does feel like spikes. So I will shave today too.

I have basically finished the girl's room. I will be posting photos later, I promise. I spent a few hours making the duvet covers yesterday. Thanks to my sister and her "great ideas" they took a tad bit longer than I had hoped. We decided that a twin comforter would be too big for the bunks so I cut one in half, and re-sewed it closed. That alone took time. A filled comforter going in the sewing machine is not as easy as you think. I really do like the room. Even my husband is in love with it. He wants me to start redoing the rest of the house. Most days I would take him up on this offer, but since I can't fill the rest of the house with furniture from Land of Nod, not so sure I would do as good a job.

Enough for now, I have peace and quite to get to.

Another BIG First

Here is a quick video of B riding her bike for the FIRST time with just 2 wheels!! I'm not sure who was more excited about this accomplishment, Daddy or B. I have been hounding him to finish teaching her for weeks. Finally today was the day. Nothing better for a true father to do on Father's Day then to teach his daughter to ride a bike. They went over to the high school track around the corner and success was achieved. You might also notice A in the background peddling on her bike. That also is new as of today. She could do half way, but getting all the way around was hard for her. Today she too figured it out.

B has gotten the stopping and riding down. The starting and turning are still being worked on. I am so happy for this now means I am no longer lugging her around in the trailer! I can now plan to ride to camp and the library with B by my side. We can also start going for bike rides on the trail together. I also said she can now go with me when I walk/run. She was pretty excited about that one. She wants to go tomorrow, not so sure I want to :)

She is so very proud. She brought her bike to my Mom and Dad's house today so she could show everyone her ridding. I'm not sure I have seen her smile so big before. It was neat to see that she connected hard work, patience, and perseverance with success.

Not Bad For Free

I did get the room painted yesterday with the help of the girls. Victoria, B, and A all took a turn painting. It did take me all day, but mostly due to me having to stop often for one thing or the other. You know driving B to and from tennis/swimming camp, running out of paint(twice, but different colors) and my brother stopping by to say good bye. Today I will get the touch ups done and look for white paint in the basement to get a few spots on the ceiling. I really like the colors and the girls are getting eager now.

I'm thinking I might take apart the crib too and let A sleep on the mattress on the floor. We did have a family sleep out in the basement last night due to the room chaos and paint smell. Well actually, I slept on the couch in the living room the other were in the basement. I am thinking I might get the valences started if not finished today too. There is a good possibility that none of this might happen since I have the girls alone today.

I will post photos of the room, but I'm waiting till it is finished, so you can get the full affect.

Room progress

Well, the girl's room re-do is taking a tad bit longer than I had hoped. I'm sure it would be all done if my painter still painted and I didn't have to do it myself. It is hard to paint the room when the only free time I have is when A is sleeping in the same room. I also have sooo many projects to accomplish! I am trying to do something each day, but even that is not going as planned. I hope to paint today when my sister is here watching the girls. We will see how that goes. I did empty out A's dresser so I can move it downstairs, but it is really heavy and I'm not sure Victoria and I can move it all the way down the stairs. (I see a hole in my wall or something as it slides down the stairs running over one of us.) I think we are still going to try. Who knows, I might be stronger than I look.

We did drive out to IKEA the other day to pick out a new light fixture for the room.

This is the one the Mommy B wanted. It looks better in person, and lucky for me since I also bought a new fixture for the dining room with new shades, I can use the old dining room shades for this one. I will have to add some ribbon to them for they are plain white and that just won't do. See what I mean about projects?! Hopefully my dad will come over add help install the light. I can do it, but I have a feeling he will be faster.

I did also buy the mattresses and a new dresser for A's clothes. I will pick them up on Saturday so that is my new goal. I don't think I will have the duvet covers finished by them, but perhaps the valances will be finished and hung.

The girls are so excited about the bunk beds that I will feel bad if they can't sleep in them on Saturday. But then again I have felt bad before and have lived to tell about it.

Off to work on a valance...

Not Drinking Out of These

The girls found the Costco size bag of plastic cups today. They decided after dinner to make towers using every one of the cups. They had such a good time trying different ways to stack them. The best part was how possessive they were over their amount of cups. A made sure to remind B "not to touch her cups" while she went to the potty. Once the fights broke out I knew the half hour of after dinner fun was over. It was now time to take them outside for a pre-bed run.

B made her tower almost as tall as herself. She quickly figured this design was a good one.

A,on the other hand, went for a less complex design for her tower. She still made it rather tall.

From Their Mouth

A: Daddy your are mean. I am going downstairs to Mommy.

When she got to me she wanted to sit on my lap. I said NO.

A: Mommy you are mean too.

Me: Then I guess you should go back upstairs and get in your bed.

A: No, I guess you should just be nice to me.

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Me: So B how long did you play tennis outside today?

B: For about 2 minutes after lessons started. I told my teacher it was sweltering out here and it would be better if we went inside today.

Me: Good point. Glad she listened.

B: Well of course she did, I said please.
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Me: Let's go girls we need to get to church.

A: Why?

Me: Because it is Sunday, church day.

A: We were just there with baby M. 'member?

Me: That was for her baptism, not mass. We need to go again.

A: I say no. I will stay here and do my prayer instead.

Me: (laughing) I say you will go to church and say your prayer there.

New Baby

The girls have been getting their fill of babies this week. 2 friends of B are new big sisters and my 4 month old niece is in town (with her parents of course), The girls fell in love with cousin M. B has fed her twice and even A wants her fill of holding her. In fact, once M is in her arms it is hard to get her out. B has told me more than once that she wishes baby M lived with us. I then asked if she wanted a baby too, only to be told that she only wants one if it stays a baby and does not grow into an A. Well I guess that solves that problem, huh?

I too have gotten my baby fix. I held, bathed, rocked, and smelled more than one this week. Funny, I really don't miss it. I think it has been good for me to do this too. I did want a baby for a while, but not so much now. I loved being able to pass the crying baby back, or not have to move when the baby woke up or wanted to be fed. I did like the smelling part and the holding while they slept, but all in all I am good now.

I'm sure most of my new baby need came for the fact that A will be off to preschool this fall. My house will be officially baby free. I will have 3 hours of childless time twice a week. Why would I want to spoil that? I have looked forward to this moment for years. But somehow I feel a little empty. I guess I know now why my mom had a new baby every 4 or so years.

So to Jen, Kristin, and any others... I'm passed my baby phase!

Mood Swings

I have thought and bragged about how wonderful B has been the last few weeks. Her mood swings seem to all but vanish, and her pissed off attitude is almost non existent. For the beginning of summer I was blessed. W-E-L-LLLLLL... as of today not so much.

B was invited to a friend's house to play today. This was a great blessing for her since we were heading to Grandma's to help clean before the baptism this weekend. B could not believe her luck and couldn't wait to get to her BFF's house. I dropped her off with plans to return at 1:00.

When I came back at 1:00 I was convinced to leave her for at least another hour. No problem I'll be back. When I returned, I was met with tears and whining. Why? Not because she had to leave as I'm sure many of you thought. No, it was because we were going back to Grandma's and B would not be able to have her popsicle stand that she has been chomping at the bit to have. So let the pissy mood begin! After many attempts to calm her down I finally received the worst threat B could think of. "I'm not speaking to you ever again!" Really? Sounds good to me. Funny, that threat only seemed to last till we pulled up to grandma's and she now found out that I was not going to drive all the way home to get her swimsuit. Why would she need her swimsuit? Oh, I said perhaps Grandpa would turn on the sprinkler so she could run through it while I finished cleaning. Apparently she could not do that in her clothes. My how her head rotated and green stuff spued from her mouth. I actually left her in the car.

Once inside my mom's I cooled down. I did have my sister go out to the car to check on her too. Funny, when B came inside all was forgotten and she was back to good B.

Seriously, why does this happen and when will it stop? It can not all be due to her being a girl or my gene pool. There has to be a way to fix it. Someone give me the secret, PLEASE!

Lambs Are Down

I spent the better part of 2 hours removing the lamb border in the girl's room. I swear I will never use wallpaper again. I am glad now that A started the removal process a while ago. I did find that fabric softener mixed with water is a great help too. The mess was not too bad, until the girls wanted to help wash the walls. Then it really wasn't a mess, just very wet. The room looks different now. It is kinda sad. These lambs have been up for about 7 years looking down on my babies as they slept, got their diapers changes, and for A, giving her something to do while she "napped". I am excited to redo the room and make it more big girl, less baby, but it is hard to let them go.

As for painting the room... My painter no longer paints since he is moving, and the low VOC paint that I wanted and researched really is not low VOC once you tint in. Would have been helpful to read that somewhere in all the info online. In fact there is one company that does make a real low VOC with tint, but only has 65 colors and they won't match my fabric. So for now I will be painting and breathing in fumes. I figure I will save the money and use it to buy a new area rug. Good thing the weather is nice and the windows will be open.

I bought the wood I need for the valances today and even had the guy cut it for me. Yup! Way to think ahead for me. If I keep this up I just might finish this room soon. The girls really can't wait to get in their bunk beds.