Mother's Day 2014

Hadley - May 2014 - 5 years-old

"you smell like the zoo"

Sunday mornings and day I am on my own with the girls while Jonathan is at work. So I often try to find something fun to do, since school, gymnastics nor swimming is on our calendar, like often the rest of the week has. And most of the time, I try to get there right at opening, since most folks are at church and museums and zoos tend to be quieter then.

We packed up our things, dressed for a 65 degree day and headed out. A pass through the Starbucks drive-thru and 20 minutes later, we pulled into the Minnesota Zoo parking lot, where I discovered a sleeping Hadley.

After rousting her awake, pulling out Hayden's beloved stroller, we walked to the entrance, discussing the different animal sculptures along the way. And realizing the day was not going to be anywhere near 65 degrees, like the weather report promised (Hadley's bare legs and sandaled feet were the top of my concern).

We stood in a short line, where the woman in front of me handing me a coupon for free admission, which I happily took and made note that it was going to be an excellent zoo visit. And it was!

First stop, the monkeys. There were a bunch of little monkeys, adult monkeys, including a hugely pregnant monkey who was basking her busting belly in the sun. Having been pregnant in the past, seeing her brought back memories of those final weeks of pregnancy. Uncomfortable.

After our monkey visit, we made our way to see the bears, who were sleeping. Play momentarily in a sand pit until my girls sandaled feet were uncomfortable. Said hello to a wild boar. Then stopped by to say "how do you do" to a big kitty cat.

I was surprised how brave Hadley was sitting up against that glass. Hayden would have nothing to do with the display. And quite frankly, I don't blame her. That cat was pacing and would've liked a little girl for lunch.

We walked the distance and landed ourselves in the zoo's working farm. They had all sorts of farm babies, including piglets who were born just last week. We had an amazing sandwich followed by some seriously delish ice cream. And took some silly pictures.

We waited for the tractor to take us back to the main part of the zoo and passed the time admiring the 3,000 pound bull. He was laying down and had "boy bits" squishing out the sides of his massive body. Hadley innocently asked "Mom, is that an egg?" I told her no and didn't delve further into the topic since there were other children in ear shot. And she asked again, "Then, what is it?" Ughhh... At this point the mom next to me is chuckling. "Let's just call it an egg for now, but that's not what it is." She stopped pressing about the topic, but I overheard the mom whispering the story to her husband, who laughed and said "Well, she's not far off." I love my sharp little person.

We finished the day with some playtime in a cool playground followed by taking a peek in the aquarium. The girls both cried when we left. And I have to say it was probably the best trip to the zoo we've ever had.

I noticed, however, that my girls sort of smelled like the zoo, so major scrub down occurred after dinner to relieve the stink.

our conversation went something like this...

"Look mom, my cheese looks just like elephant poop!"

"Hmmm... that is not good dinner table talk."

"About elephant poop?"

"Yep, let's not play with our food and make it look like elephant poop."

She didn't eat the rest of her cheese. I just threw the elephant poop in the trash.

hello, little ladies

Yesterday was Easter. Easter is not a huge holiday for us, it's one we appreciate for spending time with family and friends. J was working, so the girlies and I ventured out to spend time with some friends I know from California. Their youngest daughter is the same age as Hadley, and Hayden was quite entertained with their dog. I enjoyed nice conversation with my friends and getting to know their family. While we were there, my sweet friend orchestrated an epic egg hunt and I was lucky enough to snap a few photos of the kids (I will only put the images of my children up on this blog).

Hello, little lady with her orange balloon.

Hello, little lady, blowing bubbles.

Hello, little lady, all dressed up as a "allerina"

happy easter

We are not a religious family, so Easter for us is really an excuse to do fun things to spoil the kids and spend time together. So, much like Santa Claus, I have chatted up the Easter Bunny myth to the girls. Hadley, who is nearing four years-old, has no less that 1000 questions about the Easter Bunny. And in her awe, I convinced her that she should be extra good and helpful tonight, otherwise the Easter Bunny will not come and deliver her special treats and hide our freshly decorated Easter eggs. Here is how a couple of our conversations went:

Hadley: "What is the Easter Bunny's name?"
Me: "Easter Bunny"
Hadley: "No! What is his LAST name?"
Me: "Bunny"
Hadley: "That's silly, mommy."

Hadley: "How does the Easter Bunny get into the house?
Me: "Hmmm... Good question, I really don't know. How do you think he gets in?"
Hadley: "Down the fireplace, like Santa."
Me: "No, that's only for Santa. Maybe he gets really flat and slips under the front door."
Hadley: "Oh. How does he get bigger again?"
Me: "He blows into his thumb and blows himself back up, like a balloon."
Hadley: "That's silly, mommy."

Happy Easter, friends, no matter how you celebrate it!

"where do babies come from?"

A couple of weeks a go Hadley started asking how babies get in mommy's tummy. So when my "they grow like flowers do" didn't suffice, we decided to be honest, in a preschool manner. I found a little video on The Mayo Clinic's website that shows an egg being fertilized by sperm. I told her that mommies have the eggs in their tummies and daddies have fish. When mommy and daddy love each other very much, daddy gives mommy his fishy. I didn't go into details how, and she didn't ask (thank goodness), but the story was intriguing enough that we had to watch the video ten more times and even merited her own illustration of an egg and sperm.

I sure hope she doesn't decide to draw this at school...

Today, a package arrived for Hayden. It was a sweet story book about a puppy and the first illustration is that of a little of puppies being born. Literally one of the puppies coming out of the dogs rear end. This sparked a whole bunch more questions about the dog coming out of the mommy's "who-ha". And why? And how? "And why is it coming out of the dogs butt?" 

Of course, little Hayden who's language is exploding announces "DOGGY'S WHO-HA!"

hello ice cream!

Considering March is considered the "snowiest" month here in Minnesota, we've certainly been enjoying 75 degree days here in snow land. We've all been exposing our legs and toes and spending almost every daylight moment outside. The tulips are even starting to push up through the ground. This California gal sure hopes this sticks.

Hello, Spring! And HELLO ice cream!

This evening, like the last several, I let the girls eat dinner outside. For some reason they eat everything on their plate, when normally, at least with Hadley, we are lucky to get half of it down. Must be the fresh air! So we gave the girls a treat of chocolate ice cream cones, which I cringed at J's suggestion of this, but it certainly turned into a fun little photo session!

I decided to consider these Hayden's two year photos, as she turns two in a week. I think they represent her fun little, pistol of a personality well.

I'm linking up with Lisa Leonard :)

we are officially a cribless house

That's right... My littlest girl is no longer sleeping in a crib but in her very own big girl bed!

Back in September when she was 18 months old, I shipped our beautiful Stokke Crib to my brand-spankin'-new, sweet nephew. I honestly thought she would be climbing out soon, much like her sister did at 18 months. But instead I learned that she actually LIKED her crib, unlike her sister. So, I set-up our pack and play, bought a matress and made it cozy. She's been quite content and will at times look to get in it without our telling her it's time to lay down in it.

Recently, J and I read an article about the differences between French parenting vs. American parenting. Great article, I recommend reading it... Anyway, part of what they talked about is the French are clear about their children's place. Sure, they teach, encourage and love their children, but they also draw lines. It's important that children know how to entertain themselves and that adults have "adult time".

Since Hadley was two nap-time has been "quiet time" because she NEVER napped, and bedtime was sort of self directed. She goes into her room at 7 p.m. We read some books, snuggle, talk and then she does her own thing quietly and puts herself in bed. We sneak in around 8 p.m. and shut off her lights and make sure she is tucked in. This system has always worked and we get our adult time and she has her alone time to do her thing.

But Hayden, who loves her crib, hasn't been able to enjoy this option. After several nights of her crying for 30 minutes before she falls asleep, waking several times in the night, and up for the morning around 5 a.m., we decided a change needed to happen. I don't know if it's that she is ready for some freedom in her bedroom or the pack and play is no longer comfortable, but something needed to happen.

Last Thursday I ran out to Ikea and picked up the same bed her sister has. No toddler beds here. We went straight for the twin sizes. I brought it home, J put her pack and play away and assembled her new bed. We read books on her bed, let the girls play for hours on her bed. The night came and I laid down with her while she nodded off... After that, not a peep until 6:45 a.m.

The following day I was watching a friend's children (we do a weekly babysitting swap) and Hayden was getting grumpy. I was apprehensive as to how putting her down for a nap, in a new non-confined bed with other kids here would go. And after a few minutes of fuss, down she went. Same with that evening.

So, we are officially a cribless house. Next will be diapers, which will likely blow my mind. All are bittersweet as my babies grow up into little girls.

stuff she says

• "Daddy Mana" - Hayden, translates to "Daddy Monster", which we refer to daddy who growls when he wakes up

• "Hair Ups" - Hadley, translates to pony tail holders

• "Allerina" - Hayden, translates to "tutu" or "ballerina"

• "Splendid" - Hadley, translates to the flavored fizzy water we sampled at Costco that I was told was sweetened with Splenda

• "Uce" - Hayden, translate to "juice"

• "Kiki" - Hayden and Hadley, translates to "blanket"

• "Mil, mil, mil" - Hayden, translates to "give me milk right this very second"

• "Getting Married" - Hadley, translates to "getting your prince"

• "Ammies" - Hayden, translates to "pajamas"

three year olds and donating things

The girls each received a gift card to Toys R Us from Grandma for Valentines Day. They've wanted a doll house and due to bad behavior I haven't allowed it. But they had been good for sometime and it just seemed right to go make the purchase. They were absolute angels in Toys R Us, staying right with me. And they were dreams at home when we were assembling. I was very happy with purchasing the doll house because they were so good and appreciative.

Last night I mentioned to Hadley that maybe we should think about picking out a few toys that we could give to other kids. I explained that we were quite lucky and there are some children who are not. We could help brighten their day by donating a few things that we were done with. She was worried I would give away her dollies, but I told her to think about it and we'd talk about it tonight. 

This afternoon I broached the subject of donating some toys again. I reminded her that we were able to get this really great new toy and now we could get rid of a few things we don't need. I suggested that after dinner we go to the playroom and pick out a few things. 

Before I could even clear the table she brought me two toys. I asked her if we should go downstairs and select a couple more, which she agreed to do. We selected six toys all together to donate. I am very proud of her for taking the initiative to select them, without crying or complaining.

I couldn't be more proud.

cool stuff about my 3.5 year old

* Hadley loves to make believe. She can have an imaginary conversation with her dolls forever, talking about the most sweet wholesome things. I love it!

* She loves to go with me when I get my eyebrows waxed so she can get her nails painted. She is so good and delightful. I can't help but feel proud of her when I'm there.

* Hadley is uber girly. Dresses and skirts, only. Absolutely. No. Jeans. Honestly, it makes me crazy in the frigid winter temperatures of Minnesota, but we do manage to make it work.

* She loves to sing. At the top of her lungs. And always out of tune. But she loves it.

* She is a negotiator. Mainly to get herself out of hot water, especially when she hasn't listened. Today she was helping me outside and she had a broom. I asked her to keep it on the shoveled walkway and not push the snow around on the driveway. She kept saying "But I need to brush the snow, mama, to make it all better. That's all I'm doing." I get so frustrated, but it's sometimes hard to be upset.

* Hadley always watches out for Hayden. When we drop them at the gym daycare, Hadley has free reign of the play area, while Hayden usually has to stay in the toddler area. I usually find Hadley in the back with Hayden.

* Hadley holds Hayden's hand when we are walking somewhere. And Hayden happily holds it. It's pretty darned sweet. This is when I'm reminded why I had them only 20 months apart. They are best friends.

* Hadley LOVES her bedroom. It's her space. It's a constant mess and I'm trying to learn not to let it make me as crazy as it does. There was a time when she wouldn't sleep in her own bed, I am thrilled she loves it like she does.

* She can sit through a movie in a movie theater. She's done this since about the time she was two. Give her some popcorn and she is one happy camper.

* Hadley has a little posse of friends at school. It's beyond adorable.

poop

Hadley needed to poop and decided my our master bathroom was the perfect place to do it. I don't care which toilet she uses, I'm just thrilled she is doing it on the toilet. After she was done, I asked her if she flushed and she replied:

"No. I want you to smell it. Do you smell it, mom?"

Thankfully, Hayden who is obsessed with how the toilet flushes, marched right in there and took care of it.

my sweet girl

My sweet Hadley said to me today "Do you want to go swimming and find your daddy?"


We put part of his ashes to sea and I told her he is swimming with the fishes.


"But, you can't wear your clothes, you need a bathing suit. I can go with you!" 


I cried. Such a sweet, sweet little person.

happy christmas

Santa came twice last night. OK, more like three times. We filled multiple bags with wrapping paper and boxes. We are certainly blessed.

As an added bonus for the holiday, it was 40 degrees today. An in Minnesota, in the dead of winter, 40 degrees may as well be Hawaii. Fortunately, they were well enough to go outside and play with a new tee ball set and scooter.

In a tutu, of course!

J had to work this afternoon, so I braved up and took the girls to see Arthur Christmas. I know Christmas is a big day for the movies, but I have never seen the mall parking lot so full! This was Hayden's first trip to the movies, so I decided that I'd pull out all the stops, mostly to keep her in good form during the movie. Popcorn. Swedish Fish. Junior Mints (which Hadley dumped the, nearly, entire box on the floor). They did super well!

We had about 25 minutes left in the movie when Hadley announced that she needed to go potty, so we snuck out. There was an older woman who glared at me when we came in and gave me an evil eye on our way to the bathroom, so I decided that we just wouldn't go back after the potty break. I just didn't know how much more "good time" I would get out of Hayden. No need to upset this woman further, even though I think it's silly to be grumpy at kids when you make the decision to see an animated film, in the afternoon on Christmas day. Just sayin'...

We are now home and the girls (well, Hadley) has requested PB&J for dinner. Soon, I will crank out that gourmet Christmas feast. J is bringing home some dinner for he and I... Likely something from Buca di Beppo, but it could very well be Chinese (which is what we had last year).

Our household is far from traditional for Christmas. If we lived closer to family it would be different. But, I enjoy the traditions our little family has been making.

Happy Holidays!!

on christmas eve

My girls both are sick. Strep throat and ear infection sick. Between the two of them, we've been to the doctor twice and the ER once. It's been a rough week.

But this Christmas season has been especially fun with Hadley. She understands what it's about, and maybe more about the receiving than the giving (though, we've been working on this). Since we've been stuck inside for the past 24 hours we had the chance to do a few fun things...

* This afternoon we baked cookies for Santa. Thank goodness Santa is strep resistant and no one other than our family and him will be near them, we are in the clear.

* We watched lots of Christmas movies. A LOT!

* Each kid was able to open one gift (and what awesome gifts they were!).

* We wrote (drew) a final letter to Santa.

* We had a picnic dinner, that really wasn't consumed because of my sick kiddos (nor were the cookies I offered - and for the record, they are good - Santa loved them).

* After dinner we went on a Christmas light hunt and stumbled across several neighborhoods who line their streets with candles. Just beyond charming and I just couldn't capture a decent picture of it.

* When we returned home, we went out to the backyard and sprinkled reindeer food (an oatmeal and glitter concoction a friend gave to us) so the reindeer would know where to lead Santa's sleigh.

* We picked up the living room, put out cookies and milk for Santa and got ready for bed.

After I put Hayden to bed, I let Hadley lay in my bed to watch the Elf on the Shelf. She asked for a cup of milk, so I took the opportunity to sneak outside to ring a jingle bell. When I came back upstairs she was grinning from ear to ear and whispered "I heard Santa!" So, I made another excuse to go downstairs so I could do it again. When I returned she said "I heard Santa again! I wish you were here to hear him with me." And I melted for the millionth time as a mom... What a sweet little person.

I had hoped to keep her awake until J got home from work so she could tell him about it, but she is still pretty sick and I decided that she wouldn't be jaded about Santa by next year and hopefully he can have that moment with her then.

I love the spirit and magic of Christmas. I love the make believe and the stories... And as an adult and a parent to two beautiful little creatures I am enjoying creating the same magic that my parents did for my brother and I.

May you all have a magical Christmas!

from the mouth of johnny depp

"Anything I've done up till May 27th 1999 was kind of an illusion, existing without living. My daughter, the birth of my daughter, gave me life." 
--Johnny Depp


A very dear friend of mine who is a new mom posted this on Facebook the other morning.  My life as mom started on July 8, 2008 when my Hadley made her way into the world. She will forever be the one that gave me the gift of the name "mom".  


My sweet friend, thank you for sharing it. It may have seemed trivial at the time, but it was so something I needed. xoxo

I'm dreaming of a brown christmas...

** UPDATE SINCE THIS POST WENT LIVE: It snowed.**

This is our second Christmas in Minnesota. Last year we were buried in snow, which, quite frankly, is what I was expecting. Though, was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was an especially snowy winter. By this time last year we had walls of snow! But this year?

What has landed on the ground has melted. And we've enjoyed several days above 40 degrees. So when this last heat wave came through, what did we do? We went to the park...

Here we are just six days away from Christmas and while we no longer are enjoying 40 degrees, it seems we might, just might, have a brown Christmas. And I'm not gonna lie... I'm hoping for it.

merry christmas from your preschool

Yesterday was Hadley's last day of preschool for the holidays. We spent Sunday baking goodies and decorating Christmas cards to bring to her teachers. We got up in the morning, ate yogurt, brushed teeth and put on clean clothes and headed out for school.

En route, Hadley decided to open up her apple squeezer snack a few hours early and proceeded to squeeze it all over herself. Then she cried about it, mainly because she didn't like how her now gooey shirt felt on her skin. I contemplated going home and calling it a day, but I decided that these are challenges she will have and she needs to learn to work through them.

Now late, we headed to the bathroom to clean her up and get a potty break in for good measure to hopefully avoid any accidents. Hayden played in the sink while I tried to dab up the applesauce and put a paper towel under her shirt to lift it away from her skin while it dried. I'm sure that fell out at some point during play dough time, but at least it will be somewhat dry and she won't be fussing about it. At least there were no calls from school about an unhappy little girl.

After scooting her into her classroom, signing her in, I spot a pink sheet of paper in her cubby. I pulled it out, thinking it was something about the school break and when school resumes and teacher conferences. It wasn't at all what I was expecting. It said:

Your child may have been exposed to STREP THROAT or SCARLET FEVER.

It followed with a list of symptoms and what to do and how to deal with it. Awesome! Our household has not been shy on colds, but we've never had strep throat. And I hope it doesn't strike us (or anyone else, for that matter) at Christmas. It's a no big deal disease in the grand scheme of things and one I am sure we will have to deal with, but the timing couldn't be more awful!

Happy Christmas to us!

I wish I had a camera: this morning

Hayden woke up at 3:30 a.m. and refused to go back to sleep. Except for on me. I tried putting her in her crib four times to only have her wake with a shriek. I tried laying in our bed with her and she woke up shouting "DADDY. DADDY. DADDY." I finally settled in downstairs with her realizing that I might be up for the day.

At about 5:15 a.m., she crawled up on top of me, laid down on my chest and fell asleep. After a few minutes, I decided that I could deal with this scenario and catch a few z's myself. I rolled her onto the inside of the couch next to me and fell asleep myself.

Around 7:15 a.m. I heard Hadley playing in her room. She is not a quiet player and I knew she would soon be shouting to be brought downstairs. So I left this peaceful sleeping child on the couch and ran upstairs to rescue the princess from the tower.

We came downstairs and instead of her waking her like I anticipated, Hadley just told me to be quiet because her sister was sleeping. And then we commented about how sweet she looked. I went into the kitchen to make some coffee and when I came out, I found Hadley curled up next to sleeping Hayden. Every fiber of my being melted. Here were my two little girls in such raw, innocent states of sleep, snuggling.

And I realized something... This is what it's about. This. Loving them. Loving each other.

The past couple of weeks have been rough with the kids. Colds. Teeth. Not being able to go outside like we were. I'm not going to lie, I've been frustrated with them. Then a moment like this pops up and all of that washes away. I tell myself, "This, Cambria, this is what it's about."

Oh my, how I love these two perfect beings.

on the list of things I never dreamed I would say...

"We don't put light bulbs in our mouth. They can break and you could die."