Things that make me laugh...

It seems like recently I have just been laughing a lot and it's usually at the expense of the girls. But they do get a kick out of it and boy does it feel good to laugh! Here are a few things that have made me smile or laugh recently:

• One day when I was frustrated I made the comment "everybody and their dog". So, Rachel proceeded to ask me whose dog it was, where was the dog was, and whether the dog was doing something wrong.
  
• The girls' lunch was ready and they were busy playing in Rachel's room. I knocked on the door and when Rachel answered I said, "Madam, your lunch is ready." Audrey then ran around the house saying, "Hi 'dam" over and over again. She hasn't said it since.
  
• Rachel informing me she knew how to spell H.E.B. "Mom, I can spell H.E.B, it's H-E-B!"
  
• Audrey coming up to me concerned about a hangnail. Seriously, she's barely two and she knows exactly what a hangnail is and they definitely concern her. She probably wishes I would take her more seriously...
• Rachel asking me during dinner if the sauce she spilled on her shirt was washable.
  
• The other day Audrey informed me she didn't want to go to GPS (which meant CVS)...
• Audrey's horror as we walked down the aisle of doll parts at Hobby Lobby. She was very concerned about the "broken babies".
• Rachel telling Andy he earned 3 pennies and she earned 2 pennies when he helped her make her bed.
  

Breakfast for Dinner Groundhog-style

Tonight I surprised myself by doing something fun for the girls and they actually ate most of it as well. Andy missed out, he'll have to warm up some green pancakes around 9:30 tonight. Here's my version of these:

A friend of mine posted this idea yesterday and I decided to give it a try. Mine are a bit altered - no PB, mini donuts cut in half, regular-sized M&M's, and green eggs. When I went shopping this morning I couldn't find several of the items, so I improvised. Next year if I'm up for the task I'll just do Cheerios for the ears. Now I have to make something with butterscotch chips (which I'm going to try this recipe).

The girls enjoyed their Groundhog dinner. Don't you love how they look at the end of the day??? Rachel's in her dress-up clothes, Audrey's wearing Rachel's sweater, and who knows what happened to Audrey's hair (nap time, I guess!)... But it's us! :)

A few weeks ago this article was circulating around. Well it has a lot of truths in it, the generalizations made me laugh. But we are all guilty of generalizations... I can't remember the last time I made cupcakes, Andy wore a flannel shirt, I did a craft with my girls, or had a party at my house. But I am very positive on my blog and this post would definitely classify as a typical Mormon housewife post. But that's what I am and I love it!

Just as a side note, another friend referred this blog to me. It has lots of cute ideas if you have the time and energy!

Parent-Teacher Conference

So today I had my first parent-teacher conference as a parent. It was kind of weird after participating in hundreds the other way around. And really it is hundreds. The last 3 years of teaching I had 50 students with conferences twice a year for sure and sometimes some in between if needed. Anyhow, it was odd to be on the other side.

But of course all was well. Rachel is doing great in school and is definitely ready for kindergarten. I'm so grateful to have a little girl who loves to learn and please. Mrs. Smith told me that Rachel always follows the rules and becomes quite concerned when others don't. So, I asked if Rachel tattled a lot. And Mrs. Smith said she doesn't ever tattle (just like me - I never wanted to get anyone in trouble) but she is bothered when others aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing. Rachel is a good helper at school and she did well on her testing. We are so happy that Rachel loves school so much!

Smart Girl

So, I usually help Rachel make her bed every morning. It's a double, and we just started that tradition when we moved back home. Last week it dawned on me that Rachel is perfectly capable of doing this on her own. For some reason, I'm still not sure why, I told her I would pay her a nickel every time she made her bed on her own. I probably could have just told her to make her bed on her own. Oh well, this will be a good opportunity for her to earn some money, start paying tithing, etc...

Anyhow, so the past couple of mornings she's made her bed before she's even wandered into our room to greet us for the day. This morning she even made my bed and said, "Mom, you owe me 2 nickels today!" I'm sure if she could make Audrey's bed she'd do that as well.... Before we know it she'll be buying herself a treat or little trinket at the store. I guess I need to head to the bank and get a few rolls of nickels... I'm glad I haven't offered to pay her when she needs to clean up her toys! :)

Dad's Night

Last night Rachel took her dad to Dad's Night at her school. She was so excited! And I was so grateful that Andy was able to slip away from work - despite working 6 days a week and usually until 9 PM most nights this month... Andy and I actually went out on a date this past weekend (which doesn't happen very often, but we're working on that!), so Rachel was thrilled with the idea of going on a "date" with her daddy.

They basically shortened their school day to 90 minutes and let the dads enjoy it with the children. Rachel had a minor setback right at the beginning. She was supposed to lead the class in saying "The Pledge of Allegiance" and she flipped out. (I've been corrected... It was the fact that she had to go to the carpet while her dad stayed at the tables that upset her. Rachel wanted to stay with her dad.) I guess having 13 unfamiliar men in a room that is full of routine for her was a bit much. So, as she cried on her daddy's lap everyone went on with their morning routine. Andy was finally able to convince her to join her classmates at the carpet. Well, he pretty much gave her an ultimatum. He told her they would leave if she didn't join her class, so she did. Anyhow, the rest of the evening went just fine after her little episode...

They sang songs, had a snack, made a book together, went to chapel, and went to music. I'm sure I'm missing some other items, but this is what was reported to me. Rachel definitely enjoyed her evening with her daddy. Andy then picked Audrey up at a friend's house (I had a meeting last night) and took both of the girls out to ice cream. They ran into one of Rachel's classmates there (the other "shy girl" in her class) and enjoyed ice cream with them.

By the time I got home both of the girls were in bed. But of course when I went to check on Rachel she was still wide awake! She was so excited to tell me about her night with her dad. And she couldn't wait to show me the book they had made, which I was very impressed with. It's one of those things that we are going to have to save. :)

I love when the girls get to spend time with just Andy. I think it's priceless. They're alone with me all the time, but it seems like it doesn't happen too often for them to be alone with their daddy. And I know (from wonderful experiences myself) that the times a girl spends with her dad are sweet, tender, and memorable. I'm hoping next year we can get into the habit of Andy walking with Rachel to school. I think it would be a good 10-minute bonding time for the both of them. We'll see how it all works out next year, but in my head it seems like a fabulous plan...

Kudos to Santa

Santa knew what he was doing when he included a headlamp in Andy's stocking. It has definitely been put to use this month for various tasks, including the two below...

The headlamp was a popular gift from Santa this year, Andy got one in his stocking and our family got one in the family stocking kept up in Utah for us. Works out perfectly for the girls! Here's my all-time favorite use of the headlamps...

If you missed out this past Christmas, maybe Santa will put a headlamp in your stocking this year! :)

Reading

Rachel has always loved to pretend to read. We've posted various pictures in years past of her doing just what she's doing above... She totally cracked me up one day as she insisted on reading while eating her lunch. And don't you love her new style? A ponytail with a bow and then a headband with a bow - gotta love it!

Anyhow, probably right before Thanksgiving we ran into some friends at the library. And one of the girls (who is 7) sat down and read books to Rachel. Rachel was so AMAZED and she loved it. On the way home she had a million questions for me - Why can Amber read?, Why can't I read?, Why do I have to wait until I'm 7?, etc... So, it got me thinking that I really needed to get serious about a book that I've had for some time titled, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I've had several friends use it in the past and they've had great success.The reviews are very honest on Amazon.com and many people mention that your child has to be ready. So, I took this interest as Rachel being ready.

Well, we've gotten through 20 lessons so far. We really kicked it into gear after the holidays. Rachel loves the one-on-one time with me. It doesn't seem to happen too often since she pretty much naps while Audrey naps... And I have been amazed at how well Rachel is doing. She's learned about 10 sounds and her ability to already sound out words amazes me. So, now she loves to look through books and find words and sounds she knows.

And anyone who knows me, knows how much I love reading. So, I'm so glad that Rachel is in love with reading right now and I hope it continues... Anyhow, so I would highly recommend the book, if you feel your child is READY and WILLING! :)

Seriously...

So, I was at the grocery store checking out yesterday and guess what's at the checkout for my convenience? Cadbury eggs... Are you serious? I mean first off, Valentine's hasn't even arrived. And Easter is super late this year - April 24th. So, that means I have to have some major self control the next 3 months. Otherwise, my hips are just going to keep on getting bigger. Sigh... Too bad I don't have the luxury of somebody else doing my grocery shopping for me! :)

New Years Day

We have nothing exciting to report for New Year's Eve. I think we were in bed and sound asleep long before the clock struck midnight. I know, we're no fun! Maybe next year we'll do something exciting, but when you're tired, you're tired. On New Year's Day, we decided to take advantage of the a-little-bit-above-normal temperatures (we jumped 50 degrees coming home from Utah) and spend part of the day in Brazos Bend State Park. It's only a 30-minute drive away and we've talked about going for years and just never have. It was fun day and the weather was pretty perfect - a little windy, but nothing we couldn't handle.

The first place we stopped was the Nature Center. We checked out lots of different reptiles there and the girls messed around with a snake, turtle shells, and snake skin:

The whole reason of stopping at the Nature Center was to check out the baby alligators. When we checked in at the front of the park they said we could hold them. I don't know if this particular ranger was being super protective, but we didn't get a chance to hold them. But we did check them out and feel one:

An interesting fact we learned... Baby alligators have all their teeth when they are born, but lack the jaw strength to make any damage. Kind of interesting... In a way it would be nice if we were born with all our teeth and didn't have to go through teething. Anyhow, we asked at the Nature Center what trails were recommended for families and then took off on our hunt for some gators. Andy spotted the first one:

He's quite a ways away from us. There was a little island out on this lake and that's where he is - in between the girls. I was impressed Andy saw him. We walked out on this dock and there he was... And from the picture above it looks like he was wide awake, so I was grateful for the distance.

A picture of Rachel as we continued on our trail:

After the first trail and alligator sighting we ate some lunch and the girls played at a playground for a little bit. It had a very big slide that the girls loved! You can also camp at Brazos Bend, which the girls would probably enjoy. So, one of these weekends we'll have to get our act together. If any locals are interested in going together, let us know! We'll also have to bring Rachel's bike next time. She was a bit disappointed when she saw other kids on their bikes. After some chill time we then went on another trail. The first thing we spotted was this snake....

And then this alligator who probably would have walked right across the trail if he hadn't been asleep...we still kept our distance. I was surprised at how willing others were to get close to him. We probably stayed a good 2 yards away and I thought that was close enough! :)

On top of a tower seeing what we can see - it sure was windy up there!

One section of the trail was like this for a good 1/2 mile. I'm sure tons of alligators just hang out in the water. We did learn that alligators metabolism drops quite a bit in the cooler months and so they often stay under water for 10-12 consecutive hours. That is probably the reason why we only saw two, but hey, at least we saw two! It's a balancing act. We'll have to go back when it's a bit warmer but not too much warmer, otherwise we'll be miserable!

A picture of the girls and I along the trail:

We definitely enjoyed our little adventure in Brazos Bend State Park. If anyone ever wants to come visit, we'll make sure we take you to see some alligators!

It's Contagious...

Just in case you need a good laugh...