My Man

We have ourselves a real manly man!

Relaxing on the couch, catching some cartoons, hand in pants :)

120 Hours

Awake. 120 hours of awake time over the 10 days that Felix is away working. I made a vow to keep my patience and not raise my voice with the children. 120 hours. A lofty goal ; )

We are on hour 43, and I am going strong! So far, I have survived the following:

Friday: Emma refusing to put on shoes & socks in the morning while rushing out to the gym and then gymnastics. Did I raise my voice and issue threats as usual? No. Instead, she simply suffered the consequences and was not allowed to play at the YMCA after gymnastics.

Friday night: I watched 5 children and fed them dinner while my friend Sue got a much deserved hair cut. 5 children- two 4 year olds, a 2 year old, and 9 month old twins. They all happily ate dinner, and nobody choked! Levi tried riding 9month old Delaney like a horse. Levi was also the worst of them all, with a CONSTANT whine that evening. Did I yell? Nope!

Saturday: A ridiculous 45 minute tantrum from my sweet Emma because I drained the bathwater before she was done showing me all her "cool tricks" in the tub. In my defense, I watched several cool tricks prior to giving her the 1-minute warning so we could wrap things up and get my freezing kiddows into their PJ's. Did I yell? No sir! I left her in the emtpy tub screaming her head off until she decided she was ready to come out and get dressed. She finally sat at the bottom of the stairs, in her PJ's, screaming like a crazy lady. Levi went to see if she was ok, and she screamed so loud he jumped and ran away.

Sunday: I brought both kids to KidzWurld for some indoor fun. After 1.5hours, I walked out with two screaming kids I had to peel off the arcade games. Nothing a nice hot latte couldn't fix to help me keep my cool! Still no yelling. I frieken' rock!

Sunday Night: Yet another tantrum on the way to bed by my beloved Emma who wasn't finished teaching her ballet class, despite the 1-minute warning. No yelling, simply consequences. Poor girl didn't get to read books with me & Levi in bed because she wasn't ready in time.

Not to mention- dishes are clean, garbage has been emptied, toys are put away, and laundry is done. Chores I usually steer clear of and leave for my hubby.

The biggest problem during Felix's 10 day trip is I have nobody to hang out with once the kids are in bed :(. So what's a girl to do, other than snuggle up on the couch with a warm cup of hot chocolate and dig right in to some quick & easy online shopping! Springtime sundresses- here.we.come.!

Manny, Music, and Mismatched outfits!

Emma loves everything about school. She loves her friends at school, she loves playing pretend school at home. She even loves the car ride to school- driving through the "forest", with lots of hills that we raise our hands up in the air as we drive up and down and yell as if we were on a roller coaster as they "tickle" her tummy. Levi loves the hills too, raises his hands and giggles during the ride. And always calls her name when he realizes there is an empty carseat next to him after we drop her off.

At school, they have a special (stuffed) monkey named Manny that each student gets to bring home for a few days. Emma recently got to take home Manny, and even got an extension to keep him over the weekend since it was just too hard to say goodbye. At the end of our week together, we had an assignment to put together a few journal pages so Emma could share her story with the rest of the class during circle time.
And here, is the story- narrated by Manny himself :)

Fun with my friend, Emma Mercado!

I was super excited to go home with Emma and play for the week. We had a lot of fun together! Emma brought me everywhere so I wouldn’t be lonely, and made sure I was dressed nice and warm. As soon as Emma’s mommy picked us up from school, we all buckled in the car nice and safe. I got to sit in-between Emma and her brother Levi.

 After school, Levi took his nap and Emma played in her quiet-time room. Then, we went to the gym for some fun in the playroom. I couldn’t believe all the fun we had with Emma’s friend Gladys. We colored a lot of different pictures, played the memory game, played hide the toy, and did some puzzles. Then, Emma’s mommy came to pick us up and bring us home for a nice dinner and finally, bedtime!

 The next day we woke up bright and early and our friend Caroline from school and her little brother Ryan came over to play! It was really fun to see our friends outside of school. After playing all morning, I was exhausted and wanted to rest while it was Levi’s naptime. I got to play upstairs in Emma’s quiet-time room with her. She wanted to play “school calendar” so I could learn the days of the week. I wanted to monkey around, so I jumped on top of her dollhouse and peeked inside through the skylight. Emma thought I was really silly. We had a blast together!

The next morning I asked if I could come to school with Emma. She made sure I was dressed nice and warm in my sweater, socks, & shoes, and she even gave me my very own backpack! It was fun to go to school and see all my friends from the Little Red Schoolhouse again!

We had a great time over the weekend. We went to see Sesame Street Live!!!!! Our friend Samantha from school came to see the show with us. We all got dressed up in our Elmo clothes, and Emma made sure I had a special Elmo outfit of my own to wear. I even got to see Emma’s favorite monster Zoe! We did a lot of dancing in front of our seats while we watched Elmo and all of his friends on the stage.

 After the show, we went for a quick shopping trip at Target. Emma said her mommy was really tired and needed some coffee from the store there. She must have been tired because after taking care of me all week, she left me in the car when they all went inside! Emma reminded her to go all the way back to the car and get me so I could ride in the shopping cart with them. I’m so glad they did, we had a lot of fun together.

Thanks for letting me come and play with you at your house Emma. I’m so glad we are friends!
......we finally sent Manny back to school on Tuesday to go home with another friend :)

I heard a ton of giggling the other night, and walked over to see what those two little rascals were up to. Of course, our little ring leader Emma was getting Levi to do things she knows they are not allowed to do. She collected all the magnetic letters and brought them for him to throw over the half wall of the playroom, and for some reason- thought this was absolutely hilarious. Levi has a pretty good arm though! (the video is of the last parts of their fun...they were slowing down a bit)

He loves EVERYTHING to do with a ball. The other day at the YMCA while we were waiting outside of Emma's gymnastics class, a kid walked by dribbling a basketball down the hallway. Levi TOOK OFF after him! Followed him all the way out to the front desk until the kid stopped, and Levi pointed and asked for his ball.
But my little man is a man of many talents!He also can't seem to get enough of the guitar, or anything having to do with music. At Sesame St Live, he sat in his seat (trying) to snap his fingers to the music. So it goes without saying that we absolutely love our weekly music class we take on Thursday mornings. And we sing at dinner, everyone gets a turn to sing their special song. Emma makes us all pretend to cradle a baby and sings her own version of rockabye baby. Tonight, Levi cradled his hands and said.....for the first time, THREE full words in a row...."YOUR TURN EMMA!" I cheered like never before, and Emma knew it was a big deal too. Way to go L-Man!!!!

playing the guitar in music class

rhythm sticks in music class....these were once used as weapons. we have come a long way!

It is finally warm enough outside to play! The sun is out, and I notice a huge difference with my attitude when it is bright and cheery outside. I'm loving these beautiful days! I just need to get my brain to stop thinking of all the things I want to do/plant/buy for our outdoor fun these next few months.

 Play Hard, Sleep Hard. That may also be a reason I love these warm days. Naptimes and bedtimes are FANTASTIC! These kids are pooped by the end of the day, and beg to go to sleep. These pictures are tough to see, but I caught some moments of cuteness on the baby monitor while Levi was sleeping in his crib.The one on the left, he is just lying there with both hands tucked in his pants. A position he actually does quite often recently, and I know I'm flirting with disaster letting him sleep in the two-piece!! The one on the right, he is snuggling with his babydoll while sleeping. ADORABLE!

 Emma girl had another successful visit to the dentist on Monday! She was so excited to go, but I suggested she bring Teddy for her x-rays....just incase. When I told her to bring Teddy, she asked if she was getting a "quick pinch" aka, shot. Now I know what to bring when the time comes :) When they called her name in the waiting room, she skipped right up to them and followed up the stairs- then turned to me with a huge smile and asked how they knew her name?!!! Not shy at all, she told them exactly what color toothbrush she wanted. "I like pink. Actually, I like purple too......". She insisted Teddy lie under the paper napkin so he could have a blanket while the hygenist cleaned her teeth. She got a clean bill of health, praised for her excellent brushing, and promised a surprise if she comes back in 6 months binky free. We already had plans to mail our binky to the binky-fairy in two weeks......I think I am more nervous than she is, and I'm fully prepared for a few loooooooooong nights.

 FASHIONISTA

Possibly the most frustrating thing ever. She insists on picking out her own outfit. Fine. Not a big deal. Honestly, I really don't care what she wears- I like her independence and creativity at this age. But it becomes a problem when she insists on wearing the SAME BLACK SKIRT seven days in a row, or has a complete meltdown when clothes she wants to wear are dirty. And it takes 30 minutes just to get dressed in the morning. But the worst is when she wears something that is for the wrong season. I'm not talking about white after labor day (or whatever that stupid rule is), I'm talking a skirt without tights or pants in 40 degree weather. But the kid insisted, so I made her stand outside on the deck for 2 minutes. When I peeked outside, she was dancing around, talking to the birds on the roof, singing her songs- not a care in the world. And when she came back inside, she said she wasn't cold at all. That plan certainly backfired on me!

grocery shopping with her very own cart....she loved it. and only knocked down one cardboard aisle-display full of easter candy! not bad for a first trip to the big store!!

This outfit, was the end of the line for me! Started off great, with a long-sleeved white shirt that actually covered her belly, and blue leggings. Then came the brand new glitter socks that she promised she would happily wear without tears. But, she tries to pull them up to her knees, and gets very frustrated when they stop 4" below. Followed by the black shoes that are nearly falling apart, and we have to stop every 30 seconds for her to readjust the velcro strap that has lost its stick. But to top it off, the size 2T dress that she had to wear over the whole ensemble. It was this outfit, that just threw me over the edge! That afternoon, we went to Target to buy her knee highs and new black shoes. We quickly skimmed the aisles for new shirts, but nothing struck our fancy. Upon returning home, we threw her black shoes in the trash, and went through her stuffed-to-the-max-closet and packed up all clothes that are too small. And I realized, her horrific outfit choices really weren't her fault, considering when all was said and done- she has about 10 shirts hanging in her closet, 2 dresses, and 5 skirts.