"Hoopa Loop"

Jack

Wee Master

Nick taught Annabelle how to use the wii.

Big mistake.

She kicked his ass in bowling... Twice.An appropriate shirt, me thinks.

Mother's Little Helper

Annabelle has been working over time to earn stickers for her super helper chart . I've been trying to give her little chores to do to earn stickers so that she can keep up with Jack and his potty chart, which he has been doing great with, because she gets bummed out every time he gets a sticker and she doesn't. Although she is super encouraging with Jack, she is also very competitive and likes to be in the lead with the sticker count.

On Friday Jack completed his first sticker chart for potty usage, so yesterday, as promised, we took him to the giraffe store (toys r us) to get a reward. He chose a pack of cars- big surprise. Coincidentally, Annabelle also completed her chart before the big reward purchase- she opted for a pink yoga mat. When we returned from our shopping trip yesterday, I printed out new sticker charts. Both kids are now back to square one.

And Annabelle is very keen to take the lead.

By the time I got out of bed this morning, Annabelle had helped Jack take his pajamas off... and his diaper. She also helped him use the potty, put a pull-up on (backwards), and was in the middle of helping him get dressed when I thanked her and took over, which caused her to have a mini meltdown; she was very upset because she wanted to do it!!!

A few minutes later I found out that the reason she wanted to do it so badly was because she thought she would be earning a sticker for helping Jack!

Awesome

Nick hasn't sweat this much since he ran the L.A. marathon, in 2000!

Why is he so determined to master the boxing game on his new wii?? Because I KICKED HIS ASS and knocked him out THREE TIMES in a row!!!

My arms hurt.

Happy 4TH of July!

Marshmallow mouth; favorite blurry shot:Roasting marshmallows with friends:

Happy Birthday Nick!

The kids put themselves in a box and wanted me to wrap them as a birthday present for Daddy... As tempting as it was, I thought Nick might prefer the present we purchased rather than two he already had. Also, I thought they might need to breathe.

Cheeky Monkey

When we were at the grocery store this morning, I was reminded of an event that happened a few weeks ago; The kids and I went to a local Comcast Cable center, to exchange our broken cable remote, when Annabelle encountered a young woman who, although looked as though she may belong to a street gang and/or "packing" (a gun), was wearing socks and sandals. Annabelle approached the young woman, tugged on her shirt, and said, "um, excuse me... you're not supposed to wear socks and sandals." Fortunately the girl chuckled.

And we lived to tell the tale.

So, this morning we're walking along in the grocery store when suddenly Annabelle shouts out, "MOMMY!!! THAT LADY IS WEARING SOCKS AND SANDALS!!!!" *no response from me* "LOOK MOMMY, LOOOOOOK!!!!!" *still no response* "CAN YOU SEE HER? SHE IS WEARING SOCKS annnnnd SANDALS!!!!" -pointing her out as if she were wearing an elephant costume- *I shushed Annabelle -but inside, I was laughing*

I never did get a look at the woman Annabelle was shouting about but, coincidentally, a few aisles later some woman was giving me the evil eye. Just as I was wondering what her problem was, I looked down and noticed her feet; socks and sandals. Explains it all.

Jack Of All Trades

I was cleaning out my car while the Monkeys were outside driving around in Super Car when suddenly, they both jumped out of the car, ran into the house and came out with a bunch of paper towels and a couple of squirt bottles- I guess they decided that they should clean up their car too.

In the middle of washing the car, Jack announces that he "needs his skateboard" and bolts back into the house. I was thinking that he must be bored with the car, and wondering if I should go find a helmet and knee pads, when I see him put the skateboard down in front of the car and try to slide himself under it! I asked him what he was doing and he told me, "I'm tending (pretending) to fix the car!"

...Sadly for Jack, he and his makeshift dolly were too big to fit under the car.

Queen Crazy

So yesterday we were in Target, just before heading off to the local pond for some swimming, when both Annabelle and Jack decided that they just had to have goggles. Not quite sure what prompted the goggle desire, but whatever, a goggle hunting we went.

Once said goggles were located, Annabelle immediately pulled hers out of the package (before even paying for them) and put them on. She continued to walk around Target like this while we finished our shopping. She wore them in the car and kept them on for the rest of the morning, taking them off only when we got to the pond.

This morning I was woken up AT 5:30 AM by two giggling, goggle-clad children.

Strawberry Picking

Strange things I have noticed about us going strawberry picking:

1) We went on almost the same exact weekend last June, but it was Sunday the 24Th.

2) When we went strawberry picking last year, Jack coincidentally wore that same shirt... Weird that it still fits.

3) Both times, I took almost identical pictures of Jack eating vanilla ice cream. Both times, the pictures were blurry. Odd.

But we did go to a different farm from last year, which was a good thing because the strawberries at this farm were much better, and bigger, than last years... Just ask Annabelle; she tasted each and every one before placing it in her container... I actually had to dump her first container and have her start over because there was NOT ONE strawberry in there without a bite taken out of it!!

We took a hay ride out to the picking fields and while we were on the ride back from the field, the skies opened up and it started to downpour. It was fun though, the Monkeys enjoyed eating ice cream in the rain!

Sibling rivalry at it's best- Annabelle kicked over Jack's container because she thought that his strawberries were bigger than hers!

Everyone's A Winner

Why, who knew, other than Supernanny, that sticker charts were so effective?


We started this chart this morning when, after a loooong hiatus from potty usage, Jack decided to give it a try. A successful try it was, not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES today! So what if he peed on himself twice, it's the thought that counts, right?

We explained to Jack that every time he successfully uses the potty, he will receive a sticker. Once all of the spaces are filled in, he will be taken to the giraffe store (aka Toys R Us) to pick a prize. He seemed to really like the idea... And who said bribery wasn't an effective motivational tool?

So effective in fact, that when Annabelle saw Jack's reward chart, she tried to convince me that she needed one for potty training too! It took a while to make her understand that she has a bit of an unfair advantage- already being potty trained and all, but once she did, she was willing to accept a SUPER HELPER CHART- in which she receives a sticker for doing good deeds; like cleaning up, and LISTENING. She is so keen to earn stickers that she has been putting toys away while Jack is still playing with them!

So, not only do I get two kids who are willing to do unspeakable things in order to earn stickers, I have also, finally, figured out a way to use up the 1,000's of stickers we have lying around from the recent onslaught of birthday parties!

Another Blonde Moment

...Or is she just constantly messing with me?

Me: Annabelle, would you rather have carrots or corn with dinner?

Annabelle: I think I want to have both.

Me: I'm not going to make both, choose one or the other.

Annabelle: I'll have the other.

Me: Which other; carrots or corn?

Annabelle: Which one is the other?

Whatchoutalkin'bout

In this picture, little chubby chops was all bent out of shape because he wanted to go to the playground instead of watching Annabelle's soccer game- I just love the facial expression!

In other cuteness... About an hour after we put him to bed he started calling for me. When I went into his room we had a little conversation:
"Mommy, can you change my diaper? I'm wet."
"Sure."
"Thanks Mommy, you're a peach."
"I'm a peach?"
"Yes, you are a peach."
"Well then, you are an apple."
"I'm an apple??!!" "That is sooooooo silly, Mommy!!" "I'm an apple." (laughter ensues)

Graduation Day

I can't believe my first born has graduated from her first year of preschool. She seems so grown up! The year went by so quickly; it feels like just yesterday we were anticipating the first day.
Annabelle had a great first year at school. She had a fantastic class and made loads of new friends. Not once was there a day where she didn't want to go to school. I only hope next year goes just as smoothly!

Walking into the auditorium for the ceremony.

Pony ride!

Making a necklace, which we forgot to take with us.

Painty face.

Hamming it up with her birthday buddy.

Posing with the girls. Who's that little guy in the background?

Taking time out from all the activity to have a slush with her brother.

Hanging with Daddy.

The boys.

Sad to be leaving.

Party Planning

Annabelle is currently busy planning her Care Bear birthday party for NEXT FEBRUARY. She is sitting at the dining room table making invitations as I type. I can hear her trying to work out what [she thinks] she is writing:

Dear my friends,
Come to my party. You are invited.

Dear my friends,
You have to come to my party. It's February 5Th. Ask your
moms.

Dear my friends,

I'm having a birthday party. You have to come. Tell your
moms.

Jack has just asked if he is also invited to the Care Bear party. Her response: "you can come Jack, but don't mess up my cake, OK."

And now, apparently we are supposed to walk to the mail box to send these off, "before it gets dark." No names. No addresses. No stamps.

Memorial Weekend

We had a very lazy weekend at home- Did a bit of gardening, filled the inflatable pool for the kids, ate and drank tons, and just basically lounged around... Much like I do every day :).

Happy Memorial Day!

Like Pulling Teeth

Sometimes I wonder about Annabelle. Sometimes she just doesn't seem to be "all there." She is very smart, her teacher said so, but sometimes she just seems so... Blond.

Yesterday I picked her up from school and as we were driving home she announced to me that she, "got in to trouble three times at school." When I asked what she had done, the conversation went something like this:

Me: You got in trouble? What happened?

Annabelle: Oh, you know.

Me: I don't know. What did you do?

Annabelle: I just, um, hey Mommy, are we driving?

Me: Huh?

Annabelle: Are we driving?

Me: Yes Annabelle, we are driving. What did you do to get into trouble?

Annabelle: I, well, I was, is that light red?

Me: Annabelle, what happened at school?

Annabelle: I was being mean.

Me: Who were you being mean to?

Annabelle: Oh, just my teacher.

Me: WHAT??? How were you being mean to your teacher?

Annabelle: I, well, can we go to the park?

Me: Uh, NO. How were you mean to your teacher?

Annabelle: Can we go to the toy store?

Me: Why were you being mean to your teacher?

Annabelle: But I really want to go to the toy store.

Me: We are not going to the toy store. What happened at school?

Annabelle: Then can we go to the park? I really want to go to the park.

Me: WHAT HAPPENED AT SCHOOL!!!!!!!

This exchange went on for, what seemed like, AGES. Eventually, what I got out of the conversation was that the class was practicing for their graduation performance and Annabelle didn't feel like doing part of it, so she decided that she would run around the auditorium. When her teacher asked her to stop playing up she refused and was sent off to another room.

Diagnosis... Sick

Well, we made it in to see the Doctor... As I suspected, she has an ear infection (both ears), and a cough, AND conjunctivitis! -I knew she must have had a touch of the pink eye because, A) there was a ton of goop coming out of her eyes and, B) one of her little school friend's was rumored to be absent because of it.

No worries though... Miss madness was given plenty of medication for both ears and eyes, and should be back to normal in no time. In the meantime; I will be enjoying the quiet as the lack of sleep has finally caught up with her!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Last night Annabelle woke up crying several times during the night, complaining of an earache. I got up with her once and gave her some Motrin, anticipating a long night ahead. Lucky for me, Nick remembered that today is Mother's Day, took pity on me and dealt with the rest of the night crying... ALSO, as an added bonus-let me sleep in this morning!

By the time I got up Annabelle seemed fine, or at least claimed she was fine, so we attended her soccer game as planned.

Jack wins the prize for best facial expressions!! (click to enlarge)

After the game we headed back to our house for a bbq. She still seemed fine to me; in fact, Jack was the one I was worried about, as he has had a nasty cough for the past few days that seemed to have gotten worse after the game. But, as karma would have it, just after we put the kids to bed and I was settling in to watch the season finale of Survivor, little Miss Annabelle started complaining of pains again.

The next morning...

Last night was an extremely looooong one. Annabelle was up all night coughing and crying. I ended up staying in bed with her and neither of us got much sleep. Miraculously, she seems unaffected by this lack of sleep and is being her cheeky little self... Only super snotty, and coughing still. I'm going to see if I can get her in to see the Quack this morning. Hopefully we can get her sorted out so we do NOT have a repeat performance of the past two nights!

Sad Puppy

Annabelle has become somewhat of a quick-change artist lately; sometimes she'll disappear into her room for two seconds and return wearing something completely different from what she had originally been wearing. There is no rhyme or reason to her clothing choices; one day she is sporting a winter vest (over her pajamas) and flip-flops, another, a bathing suite and snow boots. Other days, she emerges from her room in full on costume... Yesterday was one of the "other days."

Yesterday Annabelle was a puppy.

Puppy was standing at the window, watching her friends play outside. Puppy wanted to go out and play with her friends. Mean Mommy made puppy wait until her brother woke up from his nap. This made puppy very sad. Puppy didn't want to wait.

Eventually mean Mommy caved and woke sad puppy's brother. This made sad puppy very happy... And mean Mommy no longer mean.

Soccer

Annabelle had her very first soccer game on Sunday! She was so excited; she practically slept in her uniform the night before. The game was pretty adorable. Half of the kids didn't know what to do once they got the ball, and the ones that did, were running in the wrong direction most of the time!!

These pictures are from the pre-game practice:

Here they are in a post game huddle:

Poor Nick was volunteered (by his evil wife) to be the assistant soccer coach. Only, he keeps calling it football and insisting that Jaguars (the name of their team) be pronounced, Jag-U-ars... Way to confuse a bunch of 4 year olds, Nick!

Little Faerie

The Monkeys' Granny and Uncle Graham arrived from England yesterday! They came bearing lots of gifts, including a faerie costume for Annabelle! Last night when she tried her new costume on, Annabelle ran around pretending to give everyone coins- I think she was pretending to be the tooth fairy because she said she left some coins under Jack's pillow. First thing this morning, Annabelle put the costume back on and started flying around the yard! She has been wearing it out and about all day... and receiving lots and lots of compliments, smiles, and giggles!!

Driving

Before and After

The back porch used to be a very scary place!

Today, it looks like this. However, I fear it will return to it's previous state at any moment.

Sign of the times...

by Jack-
"Mommy, you table is dirty. It's got milk on it. You need to get a new one... at Target."

Jackie's New Haircut

"Mommy, you get you camera and take a picture of Jackie's new haircut?"
"I sit here."

Stranger Things Have Happened

We had an incredibly good morning. Almost perfect. It was... Strange.

The kids woke up, went downstairs, and immediately started playing. There was no whining, no fighting, and no television. Most importantly, no one bugged me for anything while I was trying to make coffee. They both came running when I announced that breakfast was ready, they both sat at the table and ate their breakfast. When finished, they both asked to be excused. Huh?

Then they played some more. Together. And I got to shower. Uninterrupted. And they did not destroy the house, or each other, in my absence.

They each got dressed in the outfits that I chose for them. Without a single complaint. Even when I made them change out of their shorts.

When I asked them to pick up some of their toys, they did.

When it was time to leave the house, they put coats on without an argument.

After searching our backyard, and our neighbors', for Annabelle's stuffed Lion (which we found on our neighbor's swing set), they both climbed into the car without even asking to play outside.

They sang happily in the car, all the way to the haircut place.

When we arrived, they stood next to me while I checked in. When I asked them to go sit down, they did. They both sat next to me while I read. For TWENTY MINUTES. Until it started to get crowded. And other kids were running around. Then they started to play with the toy display. But when I asked them to stop, they did.

When Jack's name was called, he looked at me with sad eyes and said, "I don't want to have my hair cut", but he did not cry. Or scream. Which he usually does. He sat in the chair. Without trying to fight off the hairdresser. He was sad, and he cried a little, but HE LET HER CUT HIS HAIR! He listened when she asked him to turn his head. And even smiled a little when the buzzer tickled his neck.

Meanwhile, Annabelle SAT, semi-QUIETLY eating lollipops. When I told her she had had enough lollipops, she did not try any stunts to obtain more.

When we were leaving the haircut place, and they asked if they could get toys, they did not whine when I said no.

When I took them to the mall to grab lunch, they both sat happily and ate. They did not ask for anything. Or whine.

When we went into Stride Rite, Jack played quietly while Annabelle tried on shoes. He did not try to escape. He even let the woman measure his foot. Without a struggle. When I asked him to climb back into his stroller, he did. Although, he did try to run into the stock room once.

When we were leaving the mall, Jack did not fight me when I tried to put his coat on him. Annabelle held the doors open for us.

She chatted happily all the way home. He fell asleep.

He is still asleep.

She is asleep as well.

I am wondering whose children I have had all morning... And if I will still have them when they wake from their naps!!

Still crazy after all these years...

April 8, 2001

PEEr Pressure

Well, it looks like all of the pressure Annabelle has been putting on Jack to use the potty has paid off... He has been going steady since Friday!

On Friday, before the kids went in for bed, I did my usual and asked Jack if he wanted to use the potty and he said, OK! Normally he says, NOOOOO! I thought it might have been a one time thing but apparently, even when he stayed over night at my parent's house on Saturday, every time after Annabelle finished with the potty, Jack would say, "it's my turn now", and then go himself!

I'm not expecting miracles but, so far so good!

Fly On The Wall

Annabelle & Jack were sat at the dining room table, having dinner. I overheard from the kitchen:

Annabelle: Jack, you gotta start using the potty.

*silence*

Annabelle: When are you gonna start using the potty?

Jack: Why?

Annabelle: *sigh of frustration*