Can You Guess What Izzy is Doing? (245/365)

I'll give you a hint, she is NOT looking for something she dropped.

Give up? Poor thing is actually sleeping! She started to get crabby
during lunch and was very slowly eating her food. Next thing I know
she's pulling a Grandpa Charlie and she's sleeping sitting up. Then,
just like G'pa, her head gets heavy and starts to flop…right onto her
highchair! She must have been super tired because it didn't even
phase her, she just sat up (while sleeping), then laid her head down
like this.

Wanna know the craziest part? Once I put her to bed (about 5 min
after she fell asleep) it took her an hour to go back to sleep! Silly
baby.

Day 2 of preschool tomorrow. Cross your fingers all goes well!!

Why Can't She Feel the Same Way at Home? (244/365)

Alice started preschool today! As I predicted, she didn't have any
seperation issues - and neither did I, in case you were wondering.
Unfortunately I wish she had been old enough for the afternoon class
because it took me a half an hour to get there this morning, and it
should have taken 15 minutes. I know now why people get road rage.
Due to jerkstores and a rediculously short light, we were stopped at a
green light - TWICE. Needless to say we made it JUST in time. Some
day I'll live in a less cogested area…some day I'll live in a less
cogested area…

Anyway, as you might expect, Alice loved it! She sang songs, played
games, made new friends, and learned how to do "crisscross-
applesauce" (a method for teaching kids how to sit Indian style). What
was her favorite part you ask?! When she told me I was certain my kid
had been replaced with a pod person - cleaning up the toys!
Seriously, kid?! That is EASILY her least favorite part of the day
here at home, even when I make it fun.

At least now I have something to hang over her when we clean at home.
In fact, I've already used it!

ALICE: "NO! I. DON'T. WANT. TO. CLEANUPTOYS!!!!!! Hmmph."

MOMMY: "Remember when you said cleaning up toys was your FAVORITE part
of preschool? Let's pick up toys please."

ALICE: "Ooooook, Mommy."

After school we played, ate lunch, then we ALL took a 4 hour nap. Even
Mommy. It was a long night as Izzy was not a happy camper (thankfully
she seems much better today) and I didn't sleep well. Tomorrow we
clean because Uncle Chuck and Erin will be here this weekend and the
house is trashed. And not Auntie Annie's version of trashed - really
trashed! You know we love you, and your OCD. ;)

One last photo, Alice enjoying one hell of a celebration s'more. I
found these massive marshmallows at the store the other day and I
could not pass them up. We roasted them over an open flame in our
kitchen, just like Mom used to, and boy were they delicious!

A Day of Firsts (243/365)

Today I bought Alice five or so outfits for school, plus new shoes,
and everything came from the GIRLS section. I've had to shop there
before, but never for EVERYTHING. My baby is officially no longer a
toddler. Also, would you look at her with that purse that she just
HAD to carry?! She's definitely my girly girl!

We had been out for hours and kind of missed lunch, so I decided it
best to grab a quick bite before heading to Meijer for round two of
shopping. I had to settle for McDonnald's because the Chic-fil-A still
isn't open (I'm being patient, but damn, I want some chicken nuggets
and waffle fries!) and while we were there we met a nice woman who was
there with her mother. We talked for a bit while waiting for our
orders and then parted ways. Fastforward a half an hour or so and we
run into each other, mulitiple times, in Meijer. The last time the
woman was eating from a Cheese-It box and said something about the
salad not being filling enough. Then she offered me and my girls some
crackers. I accepted, so today is the first day I took food from a
stranger…in a supermarket.

Poor Izzy. This one isn't going to be a fun paragraph. Poor Izzy is so
backed up that she's not eating well at all. The past few weeks I've
been struggling to keep the girls hydrated and both of them have had
BM issues as a result. Izzy though I'm starting to wonder if her
deminished appetite isn't tooth related at all, but due to her belly.
This evening she struggled SO much to no avail. It was my first time
ever having to deal with a very stopped up kid, and I hope she can get
some relief soon. I was so desperate to get her to eat something that
I fed her applesauce off of my finger (the only way she'd eat it).
Hopefully I don't have to buy some baby laxatives, but if she's not
feeling better in the morning, I'm going to have to pick something up.
Like I said, poor Izzy!

There will be a day of firsts tomorrow as well - preschool starts
bright and early in the AM. Now I'm off to convince Matt it's time to
get off the computer so we can go to bed!

Dearest Daughter (242/365)

Why, oh why do you protest at dinner so much?
Is it your ailing teeth,
Or do you just like to fuss?
Be like your big sister and clean up your plate,
The sun's going down, and it's getting late!
Scoop up that pasta,
Pick up that spoon,
If you don't then I'll turn you into a goon!



So I'm not the best poet, but you get the drift. Izzy's back to struggling with dinnertime, and I'm sure her teeth that are STILL coming in are to blame. It certainly hasn't made dinnertime, fun time, that's for sure!

Alice Has a Boyfriend (241/365)

Today was Mary's bridal shower from Andy's family. Ann, Alice, and I
went together and had a great time. Alice got a chance to hang out
with Andy's nephew, whom she met at Auntie Mary's house last month,
Gianni. I found out from his mother that he hasn't stopped talking
about Alice and he loves to refer to her as his girlfriend. Needless
to say they had a great time!

Very Busy Weekend (240/365)

Here are some (slightly out of order) pics from our weekend so far.
Pics from last night are of a tea party Cathy threw for Mary. It was
nice for all of us. Alice and Izzy had a great time with all of the
kids, and Matt and I got to go out to dinner sans kids for once. Cathy
really did a great job putting it together.

Pics from today are of Alice's meet and greet at the preschool. Not
that I had any doubts, but she certainly will have no issue going to
school on Wednesday. Izzy had a fabulous time playing with the big
kids and, of course, all of the toys! She looked ready for preschool
when she sat down to "read" a book!

More pics from today are of cousin Sammy's 2nd birthday party. We all
had a great time at Pat and Marcie's beautiful house! There was lots
of good food and good fun had by all, including a nearly
indistructable piñata! Not bad for a buck, eh Ma? We all had so much
fun that I can pretty much guarentee that we will all sleep well
tonight!

I must go to bed. Tomorrow Alice, Ann, and I are heading into Chicago
for another bridal shower for Mary. It should be good times, so long
as we don't get lost!

Happy 26th Bday, James! (239/365)

If I wasn't so damn busy this weekend I'd make a peach pie in your honor. Love you, miss you, wish you were here.

Becky Randomness (238/365)

We had a nice day here in Chicagoland. The girls and I got some
shopping out of the way (I got a super cute dress for Mary's second
shower - and it was on sale!) and I made Mom's pork BBQ for dinner
tonight. I have to say, pork shoulder is the key to making it taste
like mom's - Mmmmm! Annie came by to babysit for us as we went to a
meeting for Alice's school. The meeting was nothing special, but I
finally got to ride in Matt's new car. The thing I love most about
it is the lazy man features. How awesome that you don't have to take
the keys out of your pocket to start or open the car! Maybe that's
why Matt likes it so much.

The girls adore their auntie so of course they were well behaived,
though they weren't keen on the idea of eating. Hopefully Iz doesn't
wake up in the middle of the night hungry. Ann had quite the time
attempting to get Izzy out of her chair and she made the mistake of
asking a 3 year old how to do it. In your defense, Ann, there are a
ton of buttons on that chair!

Now I sit here watching some NewsRadio listening to Izzy fight sleep
for God knows what reason and I'm hoping she goes to sleep soon
because we have a busy day tomorrow!

Whatever Wednesday (237/365)

- I'm banning myself from popcorn. I can't seem to keep it from
bothering my gums. I can't wait to get my crappy crown replaced next
year so I won't have this problem anymore.

- Alice has regressed in the potty trained department. Since the Tug
she's wet the bed a handful of times and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's
school related, maybe it's nothing. Either way she's wearing pull-ups
to bed until further notice. :-/

- Preschool orientation is tomorrow night!! I can't believe summer is
already over and my baby is almost a preschooler!

- Izzy is obsessed with the stepstool. Ever since I brought it out for
her climb up on to the couch (little Miss Independant) she's been
carting it all over the house. This evening she took it into her room,
then came out to get me saying "Hawp? Hawp?" in that cute little tone
that she gets. Well she wanted me to help her get Bun-Bun out of her
crib because she couldn't quite reach, even with the stool. She's so
freaking cute!

- Matt starts gradschool on the 8th. I pray that we all survive the
transition. I have a feeling it's going to be hard on all of us, but
definitely worth it in the end.

- We have quite the busy schedule this weekend. Wedding shower in
Chicago, Sammy's bday party, wedding tea party for Mary with the kids,
and a play day where Alice gets to meet her classmates. Whew! But I'm
looking forward to it!

She Did It! (236/365)

And even Daddy approves (as do I, for the record)!

Maybe it was the room full of toys, maybe it was the police car chair
she sat in, or maybe it was the fact that she got to pick out a DVD to
watch while she got beautified (she chose Wonderpets - her current
fav), whatever it was she didn't protest AT ALL! And mommy spoiled
her a bit and bought her her first set of Silly Bands (so she could be
like Amanda) and I bought her a watch.

Now I just need to teach her how to tell time.

Cross Your Fingers (235/365)

That Alice doesn't freak out tomorrow. I'm hoping that I can get her a hair appointment tomorrow. With school starting in just over a week, I'm thinking she could use her first real haircut. If for nothing else than I think it would make getting ready for school that much easier on both of us. I'm thinking of chopping it to about chin length, but a part of me is worried that all of her curls will go with it. The top of her hair still gets curly, but pretty much only when it's humid or when I scrunch her hair. We'll see!! I'll be sure to keep a curl or two just in case.

Sisters, Sisters (234/365)

There were never such adorable sisters.

This was Izzy's third or fourth attempt at eating at the picnic table
with her sister. She ate well, but she got up every minute or two -
she just couldn't sit still. Iz is definitely very ready to be a big
girl, she just needs some practice. It'll be so nice to get that
highchair put away!

I'm Falling Asleep Writing This (233/365)

I almost went to bed without doing the blog. Oops.

Today was quite an exhausting one for all. Matt went to work super
early on just a few hours of sleep. And the girls and I spent all
afternoon (and part of the morning) on the go getting groceries at 4
different stores. We typically only go to one store, maybe two, so I
spent a lot of time looking at what places had to offer and crunching
numbers. Here are sone highlights of my day.

- No store I visited carried little granny shopping carts. I was
hoping to get one to make lugging the groceries up our rediculous
stairs easier (a task Matt usually handles).

- I didn't seem to have any issue finding parking near the door. I
did, however, have issues with parking. Must work on that.

- We ended up stopping to eat before heading to the main store. It's
only a 5 minute car ride away, yet Izzy managed to fall asleep on the
way there. This was point number one where I almost just gave up and
went home.

- I was "that" mom today when I pushed my cart to one side and looked
for something on the other side, not paying much attention to the cart
for a few seconds. Well I forgot to buckle Izzy in and she was
STANDING in the front child seat. A woman behind us was yelling at her
to sit when I finally noticed. I felt like SUCH an ass. Thank God for
crowded aisles on a Saturday afternoon.

- RIGHT after that, Alice declared that she had to go poo poo. Great.
Not only had she already declared this before and attempted a bathroom
run before without any luck, but we were all the way at the back of
the store. The restrooms are at the front. Luckily I hadn't put any
perishables in my cart yet, so I high-tailed it to the front. Once ww
got in there, let's just say I was ready to leave and attempt grocery
shopping another day. I didn't, but let me tell you I sure wanted to.

- We finally get home and now I'm faced with the tax of carting the
groceries up our dreadful stairs. I leave Iz and Alice upstairs while
I go to make my 3 or 4 trips to the car. Alice couldn't care less, but
sleepy little Izzy was screaming so terribly I actually though she had
really hurt herself my first trip upstairs. Needless to say she went
right to bed for a nap once I got everything upstairs. I didn't even
wait until I got it all put away first.

So that, in a nutshell, was my day. The moral of the story is, never
go shopping on a Saturday - ever! Hopefully next time is much easier.

The plus side - I finally found a large, non-finicky set of dry
measuring cups! That find actually made all of today worry it. You
don't know how long I've searched!

FFFFFFFREEDOM! (232/365)

As of today we're a two car family, woo hoo! Matt decided on a
slightly used (just under 5,000 miles on it) 2009 Nissan Versa. I'm
PRETTY sure he's in love with it!

We bought it from a Honda dealership, and can I just say the place was
quite swanky. The kids playroom wasn't a filthy disaster (though I'm
sure none of the toys had batteries on purpose). The waiting area for
when you bring your car in for maintenance was unreal! Cooshy chairs,
TVs, media centers, food, and a case full of LAPTOPS that anyone could
use. The best part was that their bathroom was not only very nice, but
also the cleanest bathroom I've ever been in. I didn't mind having to
spend 3+ hours at this place!

Oh, and everyone was super nice too. No complaints whatsoever from me!

Hey, Pizza Face! (231/365)

Maybe it's time we start teaching her table manners.

Nah…