Our New Puppy

This is a picture of B holding her baby with her little puppy named Winifred (the one in the pink hat). She dressed up Winifred many times and even found matching outfits for herself and her baby. For some reason Winifred is standing on her hind legs in this picture instead of all four.

This sure beats any real puppy:)

Why Do We Care?

I had a strange moment yesterday. It really made me stop and think why as women/girls we care so much about what others think. I mean we care about how we look, how our kids look, what our house looks like, how smart we are, and the list goes on and on. WHY?

My moment was this... I was getting my swimsuit on to take the girls to the public pool. Bridget told me to put on my pretty red one. I was of course putting on my "make you look 10lbs lighter" black one. I told her that I didn't want to wear the red one today. She said,"Please wear it." I replied with," I want to wear this one." I hate to say anything about fat to her for I don't want her ever thinking she is fat. I guess I am too late. I said," I think the red one makes me look a little bit fat in my tummy." She said "I know what you mean, I too have fat days." This almost broke my heart for we all know she doesn't have an ounce of fat on her.

So I ask again, why do we as women care about what others think?

I like who I am and what I have. I know I am smart, funny, rather kind, have a husband who loves me, and my beautiful kids are well behaved(most of the time). So why do I still feel like it is not enough? I am getting better about not caring so much when people come over and the house is messy. I have lost weight and still look in to the mirror and think it is not enough. Heck I am 34 years old and don't want to think about weight gain for the rest of my days. Thank God I can't stand to throw up, or the bowl of ice cream I just ate after my pizza would be in the toilet :)

Am I the only one out there like this? I am pretty sure I am not. What am I doing to my 2 daughters? Am I programing them to think these thoughts too? I sure hope not.

Great Idea

This is a portable chalk mat!

Roll it up, take it with you to restaurants so your little one can busy herself as you enjoy your food!(11 x 17) and does not come with chalk. Costs about $25.00

I found this online toady and thought other moms might like it. I did not buy one, but am thinking about it. You can find it at www.samandbellie.com.

My only reason perhaps for not getting it that I HATE the feeling of chalk on my hands. As a teacher I tried, and succeeded, to only use chalk if absolutely necessary. I am all about an overhead projector or a dry erase board.

From A 2 Year Old

A has really taken to keen phrases. Here are a couple of her favorites. Keep in mind she usually uses them correctly.

"No Way!"
"Not Fair"
"Abby Do!"

Conversation with A yesterday after her play date friends left...
Me: Ok A what would you like to do?
A: Watch TV
ME: What? How about we play?
A: No I watch TV
ME: I don't want to watch TV.
A: Abby does.

Yeah, she got to watch JOJO's Circus.

Retro Cleaning

I began the day today letting the girls know that today was cleaning day. To my surprise they did not moan or cry. In fact, when it was go time they both helped. B often asked me for her next chore. It was nice. They did take a few breaks, but that was fine with me.

As I went to the bathroom to finally scrub the sink and tub I realized I had no more scrubbing powder. I use Bon-Ami which is like Comet, but without the bleach which gives me a headache. Anyway... I had to go way back to my roots and use the baking soda that I had in the cabinet.

Let me just say that I will no longer buy any scrubbing product. I will now purchase a box for 50 cents and use it for cleaning. I think it did a better job on the sinks and tub than the actual cleaning stuff. Plus it did not cause any caustic oders for me to inhale. I also like the fact that it will not hurt the girls if there is some left in the tub when they bathe. I do try to rise well, but you know sometimes there is a little left and I don't always get to shower before they take a bath.

Since I was on a retro cleaning kick I decided to also use the white vinegar to wash the hard wood floors. I'm not sure if it the vinegar or the simple fact that I washed the floors, but they do look pretty good.

All in all it was a rather good cleaning day. In fact I still have to finish the last load of towels. I sure don't like cleaning, but I love a clean house.

Friends

I do not have many friends. I say this with the qualification of friend being someone I go out and do things with. In most cases this would be without my kids along. Based on this qualification I have a handfull of people that I like to do things with. Some of these friends are located far away, and some are close.

Some of my favorite friends are those who I talk to once in a great while, but it seems like we just talked the other day. You know this type. No matter how long it has been since your last visit or chat nothing is out of place.

I had a baby shower to attend this weekend of this type of friend. We have been friends since our college days. Through the past years we have fallen out of touch. I didn't even know she was expecting her first baby till now and she is due in October! No matter. Seeing her this weekend was so great. She looked great and the only sad part was knowing that I have missed all of this. But isn't that was true friends are all about? I did not have hurt feeling because she hadn't told me this great news. In fact I felt just the opposite-sad. How could I be such a good friend and not kept in better touch?! I guess it doesn't matter and I'm not so sure things will change. As we get busier and more into our own lives we tend to move others out. It is good knowing however that no matter how "moved out" they are, I can move them right back in.

So to all my true friends, "thanks for sticking with me!"

Can't Wait

I find myself saying this more and more these days. I'm sure I said it often growing up, but looking back over the motherhood years I probably say it 10 times a day. You know what I mean. When pregnant "I can't wait till the baby is born." Then, "I can't wait till she sleeps through the night" "I can't wait till you crawl, I can't wait till you walk, talk, eat solids, ... then I can't wait till you like your new baby sister, play with your sister... Now it is I can't wait till you two stop fighting while you are playing, stop asking me for things, listen to what I say, do what I say... Oh, when will all the waiting end!!!!!?????

I guess I need to find a way to wait for the end of the waiting. Any suggestions?