Fall Festival

This past weekend was my old home town's fall festival. And naturally, it was bitter cold and horrible weather for a parade. But it wouldn't truly be a fall festival if the weather wasn't totally crappy. I can't honestly remember a time when the weather was sunny and mildly warm. It is always inevitably raining or freakin' cold. So I tried to be the well prepared mom...

Bag for parade candy...check
Big warm coats...check
Fluffy hats for heads...check
Camera for blog photos...check
Two happy kids...check
Gloves to keep tiny fingers from freezing...doh!

Yeah. So it wasn't a total success. But the kids had a blast catching the constant rain of candy. I swear that October through December we have enough candy to eat one piece an hour (per person) every single day. We don't eat that much, so the candy never disappears. Not good for my already big butt. So I successfully passed off two-thirds of the candy to unsuspecting friends and family. My theory is that if I spread the sugar, I won't feel as bad eating it.

The parade wasn't nearly as long as it normally is. I suspect that half of the participants dropped out when they saw the weather outlook. The marching bands were there, bringing back cruel memories of standing in the bitter temperatures with my trumpet in hand. (Yes...I was in the marching band...solidifying my nerdy history) There were plenty of things to watch and Alex and Abby were pretty excited to see it all and wave to as many people as they could. They were little pros at gathering the mass of candy (Josh, my mom and I were just as active though). But towards the end, Abby's little fingers were sticky and wet and frozen to the bone. I kept trying to bundle her up in the blanket, but she was insistent on being free to use her hands. It wasn't cold enough to cause frostbite, but I was concerned nonetheless. In the end, we didn't get to see the whole festival. It was just too cold and the kids were ready to go home. I also didn't get very many photos due to a low battery and constantly pulling Abby out of harms way. She kept trying to get the candy in the middle of the street. Such a dedicated little one! It was a nice time out and I look forward to it every year. But I think I'm going to go ahead and start sending warm weather vibes into next October.

Tractors = Great!
Tractors that throw candy = Super Duper Awesome!

Enjoying the loot

Grandma, Josh, Alex and Abby enjoying the parade.

The horses didn't exactly leave a trail of candy...if you know what I mean.

Mama's little pink monkey.

Horses. Ahh...more freezing memories of riding horses in the parade.

It's a Beauty, Mate!

I bet you are asking, "What on Earth could the title of this blog have to do with kids unless your kid is Steve Irwin?" It's actually a rather interesting situation as far as kids go. You've heard of bilingual families, right? Unless I pass down my medium knowledge of the German language, then we are experiencing the closest thing to bilingual that we will probably ever be. With Alex and Abby's best TV friends being The Wiggles, they are learning to pick up some of the phrases that they hear. If you don't know already, The Wiggles are Australian. So they say things like "He really is a good bloke!" or "It's a beauty, mate!" Alex runs around the house using 'Australian' words and phrases. But he not only uses the phrases, but speaks them in an Australian accent. It's truly fascinating to hear. He enjoys a song about washing your hands. This thrills me because he is incredibly thorough when it comes to cleaning his fingers. But when he asks to wash his hands, half of the time he asks it in the Australian accent. Of course, to get full effect, you would have to hear it. I would love to post a video of it, but every time I try, he goes all camera shy. And, what with being only three years old, he has no clue what I mean when I say, "Alex, speak in an Australian accent." It's amazing what kids can learn and pick up as they grow. Though, I'm not sure what good a knowledge of such an accent will do him down the line. Who knows, maybe he'll be an actor one day.

It's All About the Condiments, Baby!

Vegetables. Need I say more? We definitely don't get the daily recommended servings in this house. Oh, I try to force them on the kids (and Josh for that matter). But does it work? Not generally. Honestly, I'm lucky if I can get two whole green beans down their gullets a day. I've tried to sneak them in, but seeing as how they don't eat much of anything aside of cereal, it doesn't work very well. Peas don't exactly go with cheerios and broccoli doesn't blend into the cocoa puffs very well. So I've tried a few tactics. If I feed them a plate of veggies before dinner is ready, they will piece on them. Then a few days ago I decided to throw some ketchup and BBQ on the plate with the green beans. Apparently, that's all it needed. One large plate of green beans disappeared fast when there was a lovely condiment on the plate. I should have known that was the key to success. If they want applesauce or oatmeal, all it takes to guarantee empty bowls are a few sprinkles or a dash of cinnamon. As for other foods, I'm sure ranch dressing would help, but a milk allergy makes that impossible. So we use Ketchup. Ketchup with fries. Ketchup with meat. Ketchup with bananas. Gross? Undoubtedly so. But it works. So who's to judge. I mean, as a kid I used to watch my dad put salt on watermelon and pepper on cantaloupe. To each their own. Food is food, but in the end, it's really all about the condiments, baby!

How Times Change

If you read my blog regularly, you'll know that my friend, Mandy, has a new baby girl. This week, we finally got to re-initiate our play-dates. So now, what used to be three screaming children, has become four. But for a brief moment, we were all sitting on the couch and enjoying a little quiet time. And by quiet time, I mean the TV was merrily playing cartoons and the kids were drooling over it. Though the peaceful moment only lasted mere minutes, it was nice. So I pulled out my trusty camera and snapped a timer photo. It's probably the best photo I've gotten of us with our kids. Greta doesn't look thrilled, but hey...she's only two weeks old. Gotta give her some credit. She's not exactly at the 'smile for the camera' phase of her life.

But as I was looking at this photo, it made me realize how much time has passed and how we have changed. Mandy and I have been friends since the fifth grade. It was one of those moments, when neither one of us had someone to sit with on the field trip bus and it turned out to be a life-time friendship. I gotta say that we've had quite the times together. Graduations, weddings, and now kids. It'll be interesting as we watch our kids grow and go through a second round of the same things. Graduations, weddings, and then grandkids. Here is a picture of Mandy and I on the eve of our high school graduation.

And then here, twelve years later, we have four kids between us both.

Wow. Times do change. But I wouldn't trade it. It's been a blast. If my blog is still going 30 years from now, perhaps I'll get to add a photo with grandkids.

Potty Time...for real

Okay. So In the past, I've blogged about potential potty training. Up until now, I've had hit and miss luck with it. I suppose I could count all of my failed attempts as steps that have gotten me this far, but who knows. Six days ago on Saturday I decided (after a disgusting poopy diaper) that I was done changing Alex's diapers. Or at least done changing them so often. You've seen those charts that you see regarding potty training. You know, the ones where it has every developmental milestone and sign that your child is ready to potty train? Yes. Well, Alex has ever single box checked. He has for quite some time, actually. I personally feel that he is such a busy kid, that he is simply being lazy about it. Why run all the way to the bathroom when you can just pee on the go?

So after multiple times hearing, "Are you working on potty training yet?", I'm finally able to answer, "Yes." Remarkably enough, it's going rather well. The first day was a total disaster. Josh was here and was more frustrated than I've seen him in a while. Day two was barely better. The pooping accidents were the worst of course. I thought that there was no hope in the near future. Yet another failed attempt at potty training. Ugh...

Then day three came along. We had mild success. Finally, there was light at the end of the heavily diapered tunnel. He only had two pee accidents and asked for a diaper to poop in. Okay...so he doesn't want to poop in the potty. No biggie. I'm good with that. At least he has control of it now. As day four came along, he started to ask to go potty. He had two accidents on day four and on day five had one. Today we are still at just one accident and he is recognizing that he has to go and goes mostly without prompting. Granted, I still find myself asking him to go very frequently. So folks, I won't lie to ya. This is fantastic! Amazing! And it will only get better. The diaper pile is barely disappearing and I can feel my pocket book growing heavier from the money I will be soon saving. I've actually thought about potty training miss Abby at the same time. We are using the reward method. Candy of course. And every time Alex gets a piece of candy she asks for one too. She is constantly telling me that she peed or pooped so who knows. Maybe before the year's end I will be diaper free. Here's hopin'...

It's Almost Birthday Time!

Okay, so in the words of my gaming husband, I have officially 'epic failed' on the birthday invitation area this time around. Alex's third birthday is quickly approaching and I have yet to get invitations out. Oh, they are ordered and due to arrive next week on the 6th. Great...so by the time I get them out and they are delivered, that will give anyone who wants to come a whopping one week notice. So I'm going to do something that would only work in this day and age. I'm going to give a heads up to any family or friends via blogging. Great...now I'm one of those moms. I'm not giving details, of course, purely for safety reasons. But I'm giving the date and time in hopes that it will help a few family members to get a nice heads up. I even have a picture of the invitation that you will be receiving in the mail very soon.

Saturday - October 17th @ 11:00 a.m.

We hope that everyone can make it. Alex is so excited for his big party. If you are wondering what he is interested in these days as far as birthday presents go (not that it's a requirement to give him anything so don't feel obligated), then I'll give you some ideas. He loves The Wiggles, tractors, The Wiggles, trucks, The Wiggles, coloring stuff like crayons and markers, The Wiggles, Buzz Lightyear...and did I mention The Wiggles? I'm going to make ice cream cone cupcakes. You know the kind, right? You use a cake cone to bake the cake batter in and make the frosting look like an ice cream cone.

Mmmm...I'm drooling already. Then there will be tasty soy ice cream (It tastes better than real ice cream if you get the right flavor). Hot dogs and chips with dip for the lunch and a plethora of soda pop to drink. We are hoping for good weather so that we can enjoy the free picnic table that I pawned off of the apartment complex that went bankrupt behind us. It's huge and would be great for an outdoor birthday celebration. It would also be great for any kids that come to enjoy some outside time while we still have mild temperatures. Usually on Alex's birthday, we get to enjoy our town festival, but this year the festival date was changed so there won't be a parade and rides to enjoy, but it will still be a lot of fun. I just feel like a lazy bum that I didn't get the invites out sooner. Bad Mama.

The Eye Roll

Okay, possibly the shortest blog entry I'll ever write, but tonight when miss Abby was fighting sleep I decided to rock her. It has been awhile since I rocked either of the kids, so it was really quite nice. Good bonding. But I think one of the most adorable things about kids this age, has got to be the eye roll. No, not the kind of eye roll you give when someone is annoying you. But the baby/toddler version of an eye roll. I call it the "I'm-too-tired-to-keep-my-eyes-open-but-I'm-going-to-fight-it-to-the-best-of-my-ability eye roll". Anyone who has ever rocked a wee one to sleep knows exactly what I'm talking about. Endearing.