October 4, 2010-In Training?

October 4th, our friends Gargi and baby Maya came over to help cook and set up for Monday Night Football. Kennedy immediately fell into the 'Big Sister' roll.
As the mommies prepared dinner, Kennedy helped Maya with her snack.

She thought it was great fun to feed Maya- and Miss Maya played along.

The girls also put their new 'baby sister' in their play stroller and pushed her around the living room. We weren't concerned for Maya's safety, as Kennedy sits in the stroller all the time- so we knew it was plenty strong enough for Maya.

Look at the joy on Madison's face.

They talked for weeks about having a new baby sister after Maya's play date.
I wonder if they would love a permanent sibling as much as they do one that goes home at bedtime.

Last fall I took this photo of Madison.

Just like her mama used to do-Madison made individual beds for each of her animals.
Like mother-like daughter

Apple Picking-October 1, 2010

Back in October, Madison had a field trip to Tehachapi to go apple picking.
Parents were encouraged to go and siblings were welcome so we made it a day.
Kennedy wore Mommy's old name belt.

When we arrived at the apple orchard, the kids had a small instructional lesson from the orchard owner. Because it was near the end of the season, he said any trees were free for the picking- and sampling was encouraged.
We had our choice of red delicious and golden delicious- typically not our favorites- but we went to town picking anyway.

Madison had some help from the director's 13 year old son- Mr Dominick. He was one of our helpers during vacation bible school and the girls just love him.

It didn't take long for her learn the twist and pull method.

Kennedy had a little help from Miss Jayne.

She had a bit tougher time pulling her apples off the tree.

After her lessons from Miss Jayne, Kennedy moved onto the golden apples

she managed 'all by herself'- (see Miss Jayne holding the branch a little lower for her?)

she was so proud

when all the bags were full, the girls stopped to let me take a quick photo

then we grouped all the classes together.
Madison settled under a tree with some of her friends- they are so cute all lined up together.

Madison's teacher managed to snap a photo of Mommy with the girls before we walked over to our picnic lunch site down the street.

After picking more apples than any small village could possibly consume- we walked down the dirt road to another small orchard. They had a nice outdoor picnic area and plenty of running room for all the kids.
The girls woofed down their lunches and took off playing with their friends.
Kennedy stood at this fence post and watched the kids run in circles past her.

She stepped up, then down, up then down- what felt like a hundred times.

Doesn't she look so grown up?

Madison loved running across the field with her classmates.

After a few minutes of free time, the orchard owners fired up their old circus calliope.

It was beautiful and perfectly maintained

It reminded me of Main Street at Walt Disney World as a child.

After marching to the music, the kids were back to running-Kennedy looked so sassy

So much energy- so much fun

and determination-that's Madison's friend Maddison reaching for her

When the kids were thoroughly worn out, it was time to head back to school

but not before an impromptu game of ring around the rosy while we waited in line at the potty

ashes, ashes we all

fall down

Miss Jayne stayed with Kennedy and her little friends while Mommy took Madison potty.
When we returned, Kennedy was rocking and sharing her teddy grahams with some new friends.

On the walk back to our car, the girls posed for a few photos

Kennedy was less than thrilled about her sisters 'love hold' on her neck

It was such a gorgeous day picking apples. We loaded into the car just as the storm clouds rolled in, and drove home in the drizzle.

We're hoping we are still here next fall so we can catch the season a little earlier.

Possession

Madison: 'Daddy, Kennedy gave me her cold today'

Matthew: 'I think she gave ME her cold, too'

Kennedy: (with furrowed brow and raised voice) 'No-MY cold'

Usually the girls argue over toys. Now Kennedy wants to argue over croup. What a day.
Oh, and it appears the girls are officially Polish.
Last night there were very few coughs coming from their room. A few barks from Kennedy, a few barks from Madison (unfortunately). Today, however, the coughs were much worse than last night- as was Kennedy's runny nose.
It appears our Polish girls didn't get the memo-croup is supposed to be worse at night-not during the day.
Thus far tonight-coughs seem to be increasing. Seems tonight may be a rough one.
Matthew is already in bed, too. He's keeps asking if adults can get croup.

Thursday

It's 46 degrees outside, and it's Thursday.
My girls have been asleep just over 2 hours. Not breaking news on a normal day.
2 hour naps are pretty standard.
Today, this is huge.
Kennedy woke up yesterday afternoon feeling warm. Really warm.
I took her temperature and learned she had a fever of 104.3!
After dosing her with children's tylenol cold (the thick snot has been pouring out all day), getting her a tall glass of cold apple juice, and getting her shirt and snuggle blanket off- I realized she had the shakes. It took a bit of convincing, but she agreed to a bath-only in Mommy and Daddy's giant tub. done. As I put her in the tub, I noticed her lips turning blue and her fingertips looking Smurfy.
She settled into the luke warm tub and started 'swimming'.
Shortly there after, Madison woke up in tears. She sat on my lap and said, 'Mommy, growing up makes me so sad'. Because Little Kennedy woke up fevered, and sickness is on the brain, I thought she said THROWING up makes me so sad. She clarified, 'No, Mommy-growing up makes me so sad, because I will go to heaven soon.'
Let me explain- as the girls laid down for naps, I told them both it makes me so sad they are growing up. My little babies are gone, they are such big girls now.
I told Madison growing up isn't a bad thing, and she doesn't need to be sad. I explained God will take her to heaven, and Mommy to heaven, and Daddy to heaven...etc...when he is ready and we don't need to be sad. Then asked if she wanted a cookie. Perfect distraction-
Back to Kennedy. After several trips back and forth between the bathtub and potty seat for false alarm 'tee tee' and 'poops' trips, her head felt much cooler so we settled into pjs, dried out her ears, and reassessed. Down to 100.1 and more snuggly. In fact, Daddy picked up Thai food for dinner on his way home from work, because Kennedy clung to Mommy like a Koala.
The evening was calm, girls went down for bed with little problem, Mommy braced for the worst. 4am came, and a tiny cry came from their room. Kennedy's little voice was all but gone, the coughing started and the fever was back. In a big way! 105.1! More tylenol, stripping the pjs, skin to skin snuggle with Mommy, more cool water, and a little more sleep- the fever broke again.
A local friend pulled some strings and got us into her pediatrician, a close family friend of theirs, only to learn our little one has croup. As the doctor put it- Kennedy has the best (this was not a compliment) croup cough he's heard in a long time. He said with that strong of a bark in the morning- our night tonight will be rough.
Steroids for the inflammation, tylenol and motrin for the fevers, cool mist humidifiers, steamy bathrooms, night air- all the usual suspects- and pray big sister doesn't catch this highly contagious virus. Doctor says 3-4 nights of this, and we are on the front end- the fevers should stop, but the coughs will continue.
Mommy was hospitalized as a baby with croup. Times have changed since, but it doesn't make the fevers and coughs any less frightening.
Now 2 and 1/2 hours into naps with over an hour since the last coughing fit- this seems promising. The number one side effects in toddlers taking this steroid- mood/behavior swings which lead to decreased sleep. Let's hope tonight is just like this nap!
Pray for our sweet girls.

the joy of LOVE

I know most Lovely Little Blessings readers know about or read my other blog.
This is likely redundant for you, but bear with me.
Lately, um- the past 6 months or so, we've really settled into desert living as a family.
The house is coming together, kids are {now} settled in school, a routine is forming, we are getting comfortable.
This is a problem.
See, we really don't know how long we are going to be here. We kind of thought (in the beginning) we would already be out of here my now.
For now, instead of stressing about whether or not this could be our last month, or next month could be our last, or the next, etc, etc- we are leaving it where it belongs- in God's capable hands.
He has a plan- and we (I) feel like I'm starting to understand part of my role in it.
This month-my friend Emily introduced me to a free online photography course called the joy of LOVE. I've been blogging my daily assignments over on my other blog, but since the people I love most and focus my lessons on are the Matthew and the girls- it seems only fitting family and friends from here know to jump over there for a peek.

Tonight I Yelled...again

Yep, I lost it.
To fully explain we have to go back to last night....ok, really we have to go back before Christmas.
Every once in a while, Matthew and I get fed up with all the toys, stuffed animals, and baby dolls all over the house-mostly it happens when the girls sit arguing, fighting, and screaming over one when they are surrounded by what seems like hundreds.
We constantly remind them there are other toys to choose from. Threaten to throw away the 'other' toys if they just don't love them enough to play with them anymore...but never follow through.
Idle threats...
Well, just before Christmas I hit the breaking point.
Madison was having a particularly selfish day and not sharing. I asked her to pick her favorite stuffed animal and tell it goodbye because it was going to live with another child. I said this would continue to happen if she continued this behavior until all the animals were gone. She chose Beckett the Panda- the bear she and Kennedy won in a drawing at a Border's children's reading time. She cried as she hugged Beckett and I put him on top of the overflowing Goodwill bag.
Unfortunately, Christmas, shop orders, and prepping for our trip kept us super busy and Beckett, along with our Goodwill bag sat in the laundry room for weeks. Madison didn't believe Beckett was really gone for good because she saw him almost every day.
When we got back from our east coast trip, Matthew and I did a little quick 'cleaning' while the girls were in the tub one night and cleared out some of the broken, baby, or unused toys. We had a throw out pile and another Goodwill bag. We quickly loaded my trunk before I could change my mind (why am I so attached to some of these things?!) or the girls took notice.
No harm, no foul- the next day I made the drop unbeknownst to the girls.
Everything was going smoothly until Madison started school this week learning about the letter 'P'. She was trying to decide what to take as her 'share' when her teacher helper recommended a panda. humpf- thanks a bunch!
Madison asked about Beckett when we got home and I reminded her he went to live with another little boy or girl. She fell over into a huge crying fit. We talked about how some children don't have any of the nice things she does and they needed Beckett more. By this time we were close to nap time so she went to bed and forgot.
Last night she was grossly overtired, nestled in her bed when out of nowhere she started crying... 'mama....mama...mama'. I went into their room thinking it was Kennedy crying. As I walked in Madison popped her head up and cried, 'I Want BECKETT!'
I lost it.
I used the 'mean voice'.
I looked her square in her eye and started in on 'the speech'. You know the one....
'Madison Elizabeth-you stop crying RIGHT NOW. You are being a selfish, selfish brat. Beckett went to live with another little girl or boy and this is why. You have so many nice things you don't even appreciate. Do you know, there are lots of little children who don't have the nice things you do? They don't have mommies and daddies, or a nice big house, or beds full of animals and babies like you do. They don't have little sister's to share with or a million toys like you do. You need to stop being so rude, and so mean and go to sleep RIGHT NOW!'
I walked away shaking I was so mad. Then I realized what I'd done. Not the speech-though it was not one of my finer moments-but before that.
I spoiled my child.
Both of them for that matter.
They never (EVER) want for anything. They have more clothes than their closets can hold, more toys than Toys R Us, practically every animal Build-a-Bear makes, dress up coming out their ears-I have turned my girls into selfish brats.
How do I fix this? How do I make them understand how good they have it? I know my parents felt this way about my brothers and me when we were younger, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't this bad.
Tonight it happened all over again. Both girls throwing fits over one little piece of a wooden toy set (Melissa and Doug's Birthday Cake set). The set has at least 10 of the exact same piece (cake toppings)- but they both wanted THAT one. I walked away from the dinner dishes, over to where they were playing, asked Kennedy to give me the piece, say goodbye to it, Madison did the same, then I walked it over and threw it away (most of these little round discs were already thrown away or lost because Kennedy used them as teethers when she was younger). Then we had 'the speech' again.
How to I make them understand? How do I get them to appreciate what they have? How do we make the fits stop? How do we get them to share without tears?
How can we fix this?

12:30am

Last night at 12:30am I was up, working on my personal blog and updating the shop with new products.
Kennedy started fussing a little...wimpering, then quietly calling, 'mama...mama'.
Typically we let her cry it out a little in the middle of the night instead of running right in to pick her up.
Well tonight, maybe 60 seconds went by and she went from the quiet fussing to the super irritated, 'MAAHH ME!'
She sounded like she was scolding me.
I couldn't help but laugh- then run in to quiet her from waking her sister.
When I rushed it she announced, 'I has go tee tee on da potty seat'
I scooped her up, ran her into the bathroom, clicked on the florescent light, plopped her on the potty seat, then looked at her sweet face. Her eyes were still shut. She bobbed her head down on my shoulder, hugged me, then went potty right there on the potty seat- in the middle of the night.
I wiped and put her back together, carried her back to her room and put her back in her crib with not so much as another peep.
I'm still not convinced she was completely awake, but WOW! Day 5 of full time big girl panties and she's already a pro!
Go Kennedy!

Day 4-Potty Extravaganza

Yep- I know, we've been a little MIA here in family blog land.
As always, so much to catch up on, let's start with the present.
Today is day 4 of Kennedy in big girl panties full time.
You may remember a few months ago we gave it a go- but Daddy decided it was a bit too much commitment at the time, so back to diapers she went. Not because SHE wasn't ready- but because we were being lazy parents.
It's true. I'm not afraid to admit it.
Last Friday I decided it was time. She's been ready- and we needed to commit.
So, she woke up, ditched the diaper, tee teed on the potty seat, doned the big girl panties, and we headed off to school. One of the rules of Madison's school is that you must be potty trained before enrolling. Since Kennedy is not an actual student (remember she just goes to the 2-3 yr old class while Mommy helps with snack) they haven't pushed the issue with her.
Her teacher, Miss Kathi took her to the potty with the class twice during snack prep, but she didn't go either time.
She was a rockstar all day, though. One time she had 2 drops in her panties, so we changed them. Otherwise, she was dry all day long! We still put her in a 'sleeping diaper' at naptime and overnight but the day was fantastic! She even pooped in the potty seat a ton!
Day 2 we were all home- Saturday. She did great. Only one big accident in the morning. She got up, went on the potty seat, did what she needed to do, doned the big girl panties and went off to play. 10 minutes later she said her big girl panties were all wet. Seems we may need to do more monitoring first thing in the morning, Otherwise, another perfect day.
Then there is Day 3- Sunday. Uncle Dan and Cousin Lisa came in mid-afternoon Saturday to watch the Steelers game and ended up spending the night. Seems Kennedy was rather distracted by our guests as she had 3 major accidents before 10am. Then our friends, Angie, Chris and Noah came over and the accidents continued. 5 before lunch time....and not just tinkles. The afternoon was much better and the evening was perfect.
Today is Day 4- so far so good. One tiny accident, but it was after almost 2 hours of playing outside with Madison and Mommy in the dirt and mud (and on the swing set)
Seems diapers are quickly becoming a thing of the past around here....for real this time!

January

The calendar says January 17, 2011
The current outside temperature in the Southern California High Desert is 77.7 degrees at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
Did I miss the memo?
Is today opposite day?

First FairlyFabulous Sale

Beginning today through Saturday it's my first Big Sale at FairlyFabulous!
Take 20% off your ENTIRE purchase when you use the coupon code CyberWeek20 at checkout.
Tons of new holiday items listed and prices dropped on several existing items.
Be sure to stop over and check it out!!

First Snow

No snow here at our house, but the mountains north of us were covered when we woke up this morning. We couldn't stand waiting, so we piled on the clothes, loaded up the Jeep and drove north. 10 minutes we saw a full rainbow

2 minutes after that the rain started falling on us...2 minutes more- the rain...was...SNOW!
I KNOW! So cool! Within 15 minutes of our house there was snow falling.
Before long it was everywhere and beautiful.
We made it to Tehachapi before we stopped to play.

This was one of my favorites of the day.
Proper snow boots and bibs are DEFINITELY in order.
We see many, many trips to the snow in our future.
The girls had a ball! (so did we)

A Word on Last Night

After I made the Big Announcement of my Etsy shop Grand Opening late last night (ok, early this morning!) I went in to check on the girls on my way to bed.
Kennedy was sound asleep in her crib, footie pjs unzipped, one leg out, one leg in-completely uncovered.
Madison was down at the middle of her bed, on top of her covers, snuggling with the brand new Fancy Nancy Absolutely Stupendous Sticker Book she got from Miss Claudia when she came over for Monday Night Football last night.
These girls never cease to amaze me with their quarks!
***
Oh, and before I forget yet again-
My current favorite Madison word that I know won't last much longer....
The crab friend of Ariel's in Disney's The Little Mermaid- his name is "Shebaskin".
Say it out loud.
Shebaskin.
Isn't it fabulous? I love this girl!
Can we bottle up these sweet little words and keep them forever?!

FairlyFabulous

After much coercing (and lots of nagging) I finally took the advice of so many friends and family members and opened a shop on Etsy!
This week is the official Grand Opening and I'd love for you to celebrate with me.

There are already several fabulous items available for purchase, but each day this week a new item will be added. Trust me, you will want to come back at the end of each day to see all these cutie creations.
It's been several months of praying, researching, experimenting, and creating and now it's finally time to 'unlock' the doors and open for business! Please help me celebrate this exciting endeavour by clicking over and getting started shopping for your favorite FairlyFabulous creations.
Be sure to grab a button for your blog (it's over there -------> on the side bar), and tell all your friends about it.
Special thanks to my friend Heidi and her husband Joe for hooking me up with such a perfect header and button graphic and for kicking me in the pants to really get this ball rolling! Thanks also to my 'team of experts', Kimberly, Emily, Tina, Angie, Claudia and Kristi who have been happy to lend an opinion and answer to my gagillion questions during the research phase....and beyond. Of course, the biggest thanks go to my amazing girls and incredible husband who continue to put up with an over tired Mommy as I diligently work to get everything up and running.
Now stop reading this completely characteristically wordy post and get to shopping! ;)

The Monster- My Precious 2 year old

Matthew and I decided two must be our favorite age.
We love everything (um, almost everything) Kennedy is doing now, and remember going through this with Madison two years ago...though not to this extent with Miss Priss.
Examples of some of our favorite interactions....
Friday Night Matthew was out in Death Valley on a wheeling trip. As I rocked Kennedy at bedtime she said, 'I want Daddy'. I reminded her Daddy was on a trip. That's when she melted my heart. 'I luz you, Mommy', "I love you, Kennedy. And I love Madison..." 'And you luz Daddy?' "Yes, I love Daddy, too" 'I luz Daddy, too. Daddy makes me Happy. I smiling...see'. Now the lights were off, but it was tough to mistake that big grin as she thought about Daddy.
**
Saturday night the kids were in bed and Uncle Matt and I were watching a movie. 45 minutes after the kids went down I heard talking in their room. I walked in to find Kennedy in her crib naked but for her diaper. She unzipped her footie pjs and took them off, then took her water 'tuppie' and shook it until water dripped from the 'dripless spout' and sprinkled all over her pjs. I leaned down and asked why she was naked. She said, 'Umm....because. because I want too'. After explaining why we don't take off our clothes at night and redressing her in nice dry pjs, I placed her back in bed (sans the water tuppie) and told her to go to sleep. Uncle Matt went in 30 minutes later when she was still singing to herself. Sometimes it takes a long time to work her day out!
**
Sunday night Matthew was home from Death Valley and rocking Kennedy. She rolled over in his lap and looked at him and said. ' Daddy, you my bess fwiend'. He was beaming as he retold the story when she fell asleep.
**
Today on the way home from school in my rear view I noticed Kennedy was covering up her ears. I asked what was wrong. She responded. 'Mommy, I has music in my ears. Can you make it quiet, pease?'. And so I turned off the radio and we chatted the rest of the way instead. She was having a 'peetend birsday paaty wif Donald Duck and Minnie' in her lap.
**
This little girl cracks us up day in and day out. I just have to get better about remembering all these little stories and writing them down so we don't forget these precious gifts when she is a rowdy teenager!
PS I'm in the process of posting our last few months of activity. If you are a 'follower' of the blog or add it to your google reader you will be notified with each new post so you don't have to dig back to figure out what is new. Just a tip. ;) Plus, followers make me happy.

Ah what a week....

The past three days I've been in bed with aches all over, barely able to make it to the bathroom with liquid coming out of my bottom feeling on the verge of losing my lunch...except I hadn't eaten anything in days. Matthew had to pick up Uncle Matt at the airport Tuesday afternoon. Finally last night I ate a bland dinner and started to feel normal again. Then the pounding headache started. Not much sleep last night and waking to the sound of "Madison, calm down so you don't throw up again". After jumping out of bed to clean up my child and the hard wood floors in the kitchen (thank goodness she made it off the carpet!) we were trying to decide if Madison had such a tantrum she made herself sick...or if she was actually sick. The answer came just a few minutes ago when Madison threw up again, this time on the sofa and carpet and again in the bathroom sink. Her face is puffy, she is pewny and now Kennedy has a runny nose.
Uncle Matt picked a bad week to come visit. Looking forward to things calming down so we can get back on track with updates. In the meantime, back to wiping noses and washing yucky laundry.

Big Girl Panties

Lots to catch up on, but before I forget....
Today is an exciting day! Miss Kennedy decided she wants to wear big girl panties.
For a few weeks now Kennedy asked to go poops in the potty seat before bath time. She's been interested in the potty on and off ever since, we were just too lazy to really pull the trigger and start 'potty learning time'.
Yesterday was a busy day. We spent the morning in Daddy's hangar visiting and seeing his cool airplane for the very first time, then went to a 1st birthday party for our little friend, Maya, and since we were in town we opted for dinner out. Kennedy went potty on 2 different public potties throughout the course of the day and even spent 11 minutes without a diaper (more on that to come!). She thought it was so neat that Mommy and Madison were going and wanted to try it out, too.
After being such a big girl yesterday, she decided to wear a pair of big girl panties we just pulled out of the 2T box of clothes from Madison. We are currently 20 minutes in- so far so good. After 10 minutes (before the 15 minute potty timer went off) Kennedy asked if she could sit on the big girl potty seat. She did and went pee pee.
Here's to the beginning of a diaper-free household!

Did you Know?

Have you missed Mommy's craft and decorating project?
Are you so glad they are gone?
Well, if you've lost sleep over worrying if Mommy lost her creativity...rest easy.
They are on a new blog.
Yep, for about 6 weeks, Mommy's been hiding her new blog.
Come on over and check it out- be sure to click and be a follower- there are so many exciting things to come, you won't want to miss it!
That is....unless you are so thrilled you no longer have to weed through crazy project posts to get to the goods about the girls. In which case....please disregard this post.
PS Do you need something to do tomorrow to kill a little time in your day? (I know, as though you aren't busy enough!)
Check me out, I'm a contributor at Someday Crafts Disney Days! I feel like a 'real' fancy blogger. *wink*

Apple Picking

a
Today Madison's Preschool class went apple picking. Mommy took photos for the class/school trip. Needless to say there are LOTS of photos to weed through. In the meantime, this may be the best of the day. Proud Big Sister and loving Little Sister. This picture truly speaks a thousand words!

September 29th

Busy, busy girls today.
Miss Kennedy decided nap time was for the birds.
After just under an hour in their beds, this is what I found

Kennedy 'flapping her wings' and bouncing up and down

then making an attempt to escape

first time she's tried this trick.

then peek-a-boo

after dumping every animal, blanket, and pillow she begged for before nap, out of the crib.

then there is the pretend sleeper, Madison.

who started out pretending, then hid

then bounced up and down

saying she was a stink bug

they were so wiggly

then Kennedy joined in the stink bug game

after an hour and a half of attempting to nap, I decided a change of scenery was needed

Out to the swing set- Not sure where Madison's skirt ended up.

Kennedy cracked me up

before we went out to swing they each put on Mommy's 'wip sik' aka, lipstick, which is actually a tube of lip gloss.

She squished her lips together non stop while moving her legs in a running motion on the swings

she held onto her swing for dear life with a funny grin

Rare form- that's what these girls were in today.

What a funny day!