Good Morning

One of the best things about every morning is the smiling face of Esther. She ALWAYS wakes up happy! It is adorable except for the rare times when she wakes up earlier then early. As she approaches our door she always has little giggles and as soon as we make eye contact she runs and jumps onto our bed for a cuddle. If I'm downstairs in the morning I can always hear when she gets up and runs to our room, then sees we're not there so she runs all the way down the hall to the stairs. This may sound cliche but the pitter patter of her feet always makes me smile. This morning when she woke up we had a lovely conversation and a cuddle. We talked about bugs and how she had looked for spiders in her bed but there weren't any because she is in the upper bunk. She also told me how Grandma told her that mean bugs are spiders but then they die and go to Heaven. I'm sure those were not Grandma's exact words but that's how the interpretation went. Then we talked about earwigs and how they were just downstairs and we wondered if they had mouths and teeth. The mommy encyclopedia came up short on that topic. I told her I was pretty sure they don't have teeth and I reassured her they do not bite. I think I could make any request to Esther in the morning and she would do it. She is cheerfully obedient and when I tell her to go potty she hops up and runs to the toilet chatting with me the whole time she goes and the whole time she washes her hand. John and I do not wake up ready to talk so it takes some warming up before we can be very responsive to her. Lucy is not the best at waking up either. She does not wake up talking or giggling, she wakes up screaming. No joke. We must have good pipes in our genes (well, I guess we know we do seeing as John's mom was pro-opera) because she is LOUD. Most morning Lucy is the one that wakes us all. Shrieking screams are not the best cock-a-doodle-do (I have no idea how to spell or write that word). Hopefully Lucy will soon learn from her sister and we'll have all around cheerful mornings.

Big Mistake

Esther told John and I this past weekend, separately at two different times, that we made a mistake when it came to buying our minivan. We should not have bought a silver one, we should have bought a PINK ONE!!! What were we thinking...

Hurricane Lucy

I meant to do this post last week but one of the girls ran off with my camera cord and I just found it yesterday. I cleaned my house last week on Monday and it was SPOTLESS, well almost. I've learned to accept the fact that my house is never perfectly clean because I have kids. If I'm busy cleaning then they are busy playing or destroying. The day after I cleaned my house this is what happens. Actually, this is what can happen in twenty short minutes while I'm on the computer or switching the laundry:

This picture doesn't capture the full disaster. Notice the drawers that hold the toys are not even in their plastic frame. Also in the back it's hard to see half the book shelf spread out on the floor. Esther is pretty good at making messes but Lucy takes the cake. She is comparable to a hurricane or a tornado. Her goal in life is to empty out drawers, cupboards, shelfs, and anything else that contains any type of object. Most our cupboards are baby proofed but now she can reach the drawers I thought she wouldn't be able to reach until I could train her. One week my drawers were organized, now they each look like a random junk drawer. She's pretty amazing.

While Esther is a lot more tidy then Lucy, she has her tendencies. Esther is my chair mover. She's discovered a whole new world by moving chairs--she can cook with mommy, reach any food in the pantry or fridge, crawl over the gate to the stairs, and answer the phone. Last week she also decided it would be fun to move ALL the chairs. They became some part of her creative world and she told me she moved them so Lucy could also climb on them and they could sing songs. I think it's cute she has found this new independence through chairs but we need to work on the "putting the chair back" part.

Despite the large amount of cleaning and reorganizing I do I still have the best job in the world.

But Why?!!

Two of the most common phrases heard around our home are "Why?" and "But why?!!" One "why" is never sufficient for Esther's satisfaction. There is always a second "why" that has a "but" before it and even that doesn't always do it for her. Sometimes there have been up to TEN "WHY'S." The only reason it ever goes so long is when John and I are together and we take turns trying to get her to the finish line of comprehension. I know this is a normal things for kids to do but even my sister in-law commented on Esther's frequency of "why's." When my mom was here she introduced Esther to this song from the Broadway musical, Beauty and the Beast that Belle sings called "Is this home?" At least I think that's the title. Esther is now obsessed with it! It's not hard to win her interest with anything that has to do with a princess. So Esther wants to listen to that song over and over and all throughout it she is asking me questions like, "Why does it say dark and cold?" and "Why does it say believe?" I patiently answered her the first few times we listened to the song but after she started asking the same questions every time and then continuing with a succession of "why's" because my answers weren't good enough I finally said, "Let's call Grandma." Grandma is much more patient with her and gets a kick out of Esther's fascination with the song.

"Why" isn't the only question asked during the day. As I mentioned previously I'm also expected to be a walking dictionary. After a rough night of coughing and not much sleep Esther asked me today what "later" meant and I had nothing for her. I actually said, "Uh... later." Then I added, "Like in a couple minutes or hours." It's not easy to come up with these explanations and definitions--especially without a good night's sleep! Admittedly, I run out of patience sometimes--especially when she asks me every day and every night if she can have a second vitamin or a second fluoride pill and I always say no and she always asks me,"But why?" and I always explain that too many vitamins and fluoride pills will make you sick. I am glad she's curious and wants to learn. I would be nervous if she didn't ask any questions. My favorite thing is when she asks a question and after I explain she says, "Oh, that's right," like she knew all along.

I think I need to do better with my explanations and answers because Esther has a very good memory. If I say anything she usually holds me accountable for it some time later: "Be-nember Mommy, you said that? Be-nember?" Yes Sweety now I remember. I mentioned once that sometimes Daddy likes to eat "garbage" food on the weekends (he's doing Body for Life and they have one free day where they eat whatever they want so we were at the grocery store getting some treats and this was in response to a series of "why's" about why she couldn't pick a bunch of junk food) and the next day I heard her telling Grandma about Daddy eating "garbage" food. I had to clarify to my mom that John does not in fact eat garbage, he usually eats pretty healthy and fortunately Esther told her the next day about his favorite vegetable--green peas, which was remarkable to me because we have not had peas in months or talked about peas for months but she pulled that out of her memory. I think I'm starting to ramble but what can you expect at the end of a long sleep-deprived day after being bombarded by my toddler's insatiable curiosity.

Not soon enough

There are some days that nap time/quiet time is not soon enough! Today has been one of those days. I started the day doing a tae-bo video with my friend and while I love to work out it also means that during this time my girls are busy creating disasters. It's still worth it but I had to add it for effect. After the workout we headed outside to plant some tomato plants and couple basil plants that my mom financed because she noticed all the bare spots of dirt in our yard. She has a green thumb and when she visited couldn't resist pulling many of our weeds--thus the need for the tomato plants with no weeds to cover our dirt. I thought I was getting outside early enough to avoid the heat but no... it was hot and sweaty! We have had this sudden spell of hot days here in our area and it's hard to go from pleasant weather to hot weather very quickly. Esther got especially whiny yesterday after our trip to the store she almost cried: "My back is sweaty!!!" Sorry sweetie, being hot and sweaty is something you have to get used to in this life, unless you want to live in Alaska or Northern Russia. Back to my morning: After our messy adventure in the yard we headed inside for a bath and shower. I let Lucy hand out in the tub for two minutes too long and as I ran to grab her clothes I returned to find her surrounded by poop and even holding a piece of it in her hand. AAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaagh. That's all I could say. I picked her up and plopped her in the shower, which she hates, and quickly washed her. Then we all got dressed. I had to go grab a granola bar before I could face the bath. After exercising and planting I was feeling some low blood-sugar. I finally felt energized and mentally prepared to begin the huge hassle of cleaning the poop out of the tub. I say hassle because it's not just scooping the poop out and draining it--there is all the sanitizing that has to happen to the bath, faucet, toys, and containers that have all been in contact with poop particles. Not to be gross but it was not very solid poop which made it even harder and more laborious. Eshter is fascinated by poop and had to watch every scoop and step I made. She even told Grandma she'd have to call her back in a minute and she LOVES talking to Grandma on the phone. While I was cleaning up one of Lucy's messes she was busy destroying elsewhere. That girl is one busy girl. She's driving me crazy with her "emptying cupboards and drawers" obsession. Anyway, it took me about an hour to get the bath clean and back in order. I think Lucy will shower from now on. As long as it took me it still was a couple hours till nap time and I was already exhausted (I'm still recovering from a my recent head cold just so you don't think I'm the biggest wimp ever). So we had lunch and then I bribed Esther with "Super Why" in order to get her to help clean up the mess made during exercise time. I did the dishes while she watched her show and now I can happily and finally say while Lucy is crying and screaming to sit on my lap while I finish this blog that IT IS NAP TIME FOR LUCY AND QUIET TIME FOR ESTHER. HOORAY.

A very good birthday

I had a great birthday yesterday. The morning started off with Lucy waking up early (I'm sure she couldn't wait to give me some birthday wishes) and Esther woke up shortly after that and the first thing out of her mouth was "Happy Birthday Mommy!" Then she ran to the couch to get a few scraps of paper she had scribbled on and hidden under pillows to suprise me with, aka "my cards." After I perused my cards she asked me if we could make the cake and if I wanted pink icing (just like what we did for her birthday). I told her I was more of a chocolate girl and she was okay with that. Later in the morning we headed out with my friend Brooke and Brent to go to the water park in Ripon. Beth and Lisa, my sisters in-law, and a few friends, met us there and we enjoyed the sun and water. Lucy wasn't too into the water until I decided to take her swimsuit off and put her regular clothes on and then she decided she was ready to get wet. Towards the end they pulled out some mini cupcakes and sang "Happy Birthday" to me. It was so nice of them! After naps in the afternoon Esther kept bugging me about finding the party hats and after a long unsuccessful search we decided to just go buy some. We met John in at the Livermore Target and did a little shopping. Then we headed to the China Pavilion for a delicious birthday dinner. John gave me my presents--clothes from H&M and flowers! Thanks to Bruce he was able to take time off work during the day to drive to Walnut Creek and get my present. He's come a long way in the gift-giving and you could even say he's getting pretty good! The fun didn't end there! John surprised me when we got home with my friend Brooke coming over to babysit so we could go out! We first had to do a quick cupcake candle ceremony and birthday song with the party hats and everything in order to satisfy Esther's birthday expectations. I especially enjoyed this because of how excited Esther was about it. After the candles she said, "Mommy, how many numbers are you?" She always keeps me laughing. We put the girls to bed after that and headed to a movie. It was just a perfect day because I got to talk to a lot of friends and family on the phone, and then spend all day with friends and family, especially my Johnny! Thank you everyone for making it a wonderful day!

A Mommy Surprise!

I had the best surprise on Wednesday night... my mom came to visit!! John told me he had to work late and I believed him until he walked in and after him came my mommy!!! I almost started crying I couldn't believe it. I have really missed my family lately since I haven't seen them since January so it was the best birthday/mother's day present to have my mom come. I can't even tell you how much my girls love her too. Esther was almost glued to Grandma the whole time she was here. My mom is so creative and fun! When she is with the girls there are all sorts of mini parties, pretend play, new toys, and treats! She was really nervous to come after what happened last time she was here when she got really sick but she did great this time. I think she had more energy than me! We shopped, played at the park, cooked some good food, watched some BBC and Jazz, and had lots of good talks. On Saturday we did a day trip to the Muirwoods and Stinson Beach with John's two brothers and families. She was a good sport to come on that long windy drive but the beach made it all worth it. Seeing Esther and Lucy going crazy with the sand and water is priceless (at least to the parents and grandparents of course). Esther wasn't too into the Muirwoods (a redwood national monument) especially when we explained it as "Hey, we're going to see some trees!" But she ended up having a great time running around with her cousins and I think she even enjoyed the "trees." She REALLY loved the beach--putting her feet in the ice water, collecting "she-shells" (which were actually rocks), and digging in the sand. The only part she didn't like was walking on the "puffy" sand (the dry part of the sand that's hard to walk on). Lucy did not appreciate the texture of sand on her feet at all. She had to cry for a bit until she could get used to it and venture off the blanket to play with the sand and even taste it a bit. Yum!

After we finally got back from our big Saturday trip my mom sent John and I out on a date while she watched the girls. Not only did she watch them, feed them, bathe them, and put them to bed--she also cleaned the house. She is amazing and so selfless. I am always amazed by her strength, endurance, patience, and compassion. Every minute with her is a treasure. John took my mom to the airport this afternoon. Esther was bawling and the only reason I kept it together was I knew I would see her in a month! Esther had a harder time accepting her departure and after her asking me ten times why Grandma could not stay I had her call Grandpa, aka Papa, and he explained it to her satisfaction--mostly along the lines of how much he would miss Grandma and be so sad. Thanks Dad for letting us borrow Mom and thank you so much for the surprise visit Mom! We miss you already!

Esther's First Self-Haircut

The other day I was checking my email and in the middle of it realized that Esther was being very quiet. This usually signals mischief so I went searching for her. I found her giggling nervously in the kitchen with some scissors in her hand. She quickly confessed and showed me a small pile of hair behind the couch. As you can see it doesn't look too different from her usual wild style except for some bangs that look a little too short. I was pretty calm about it all probably due to the fact that I've heard so many disaster stories of kids cutting their own hair. We just struggle with the hair department at our house. Esther definitely never wants her hair done and Lucy used to be good about it but now takes her elastics or clips out as soon as she can get out of my sight. Most days I avoid the struggle and we go with the natural wavy-do.

This picture is the perfect example of my girly girls who LOVE dressing up, purses, lip gloss, make-up, jewelry, beads, but DO NOT TOUCH THE HAIR.

A Sienna joins the family

I really really never thought I would ever say this but I LOVE my new minivan. Yes, we bought a minivan. We have been trying to sell John's truck for a very long time with no luck. Since gas prices got really high he started taking my Focus to work and I've been driving the truck around. With gas prices still on the rise and the sinking feeling that the dodge was depreciating by day we decided to take the plunge. We did end up selling the truck privately at the last second to a ward member who had previously shown interest and was willing to offer a bit more than the dealership. I think John shed a few tears as the new owner drove away in his truck. Last night we were preparing to buy this navy blue 2004 Honda Odyssey (yes, a horrible color but it's just a car and we didn't want a car payment) at the Honda dealership but they were not very willing to come down to the price we wanted. It was still a pretty good deal and we planned on taking it but John decided to run over to the Toyota dealership one more time and see what they were willing to do for this 2007 Sienna with the same mileage. Obviously, we got an amazing deal and for slightly more than the Odyssey would have cost us. And look at that color! Silver is Esther's favorite color lately so I know she'll really apppreciate it too. Thank you John for taking care of the haggling--we all know if I would have been the haggler we never would have made it. And thank you for my hot new Sienna!