Wordless Wednesday- Flashback!!

my dad.... circa 1970s

Smiles Shouldn't Be This Difficult!

After many months of wanting to grow her hair "like Rapunzel"... My daughter decided the tears nearly every morning from tangled hair wasn't worth being like a princess.  She declared "I want my hair to be shorter and styled".

I really wanted to get some nice before and after photos since she was getting about 4 inches cut off, but for some reason getting a 4 year old to smile on cue isn't as easy as you would think!!

            

Independent Play

Please don't judge me on this outfit... She picked it out herself. And who am I to stump creativity?

Until about a year ago, my daughter was a very independent player.  She would sit in the living room or her bedroom and entertain herself so nicely that if I even attempted to play with her, she would get mad at me.

At some point over the last year, she has forgotten how to play independently.  She is more whiny, demanding, and insists she does not know how to play with her toys unless either my husband or I am with her.  I'm not sure if it is a personality trait or age...but after chatting with other moms of 4.5 year olds, it sounds like this is an age-thing.  And it is really darn annoying!! Don't get me wrong, I love playing with my children, but I hate the complaining that comes out of my daughters mouth when I say I can't play with her because I have to do something else. 

In an attempt to get her to play without me, we went to the store last night and let her pick out an area rug for her bedroom.  Her brother has one of those rugs with the roads and buildings on it for his trains and cars, so we thought maybe her ponies and polly pockets would like to play on a rug too?? (Hey, pirates like flowers and butterflies too, right?). 

It has only been about 14 hours and already she has played twice up in her room quite nicely.  I hope this works  because this momma needs to clean her house!! (Or blog.....)

Friday Confessionals

I confess...
That it is still August and I have a whole pile of Christmas toys already bought for my children.

I confess....
That I already have their birthday parties planned.
And they are born January/February.

I confess...
Most of the toys I am selling at a yard sale tomorrow are still age appropriate but I am selling them to make room for Christmas and birthdays.

I confess....
I think about this sort of stuff to avoid the fact that if I thought to much about myself or my life as of right now I would be sad and get more depressed.

Go participate with Mamarazzi and share your confessions!

And So The Potty Training Begins... and Stalls. Har Har

Now that Ben is nearly 2.5 it is time to start at least talking about the potty.  So far our tally is

Wordless Wednesday: Food Art

Blog Redesigned

I am currently attending my first ever Bloggy Bootcamp. I am learning so much I might not sleep tonight because I will be on my computer all night. This blog WILL be updated by tomorrow, even if it mean my head explodes with frustration and I get no sleep.

I hope I can navigate well enough to make the changes I am envisioning. Please continue to read, if you are new to my blog, please be patient and return to my blog. As always, I appreciate all feedback, positive or negative!!!

Seriously though, why hasn't anyone told me what I am now learning? My blog is a mess and I was oblivious!!

Day Out With Thomas... Take 3!!

Today we got to see Thomas the Tank Engine up close and personal... for the THIRD time! 

My husband was promptly fired from picture taking...Seriously, why take a picture with Thomas if you can't SEE Thomas??

Some may ask why we've gone three times... it is not like each time was terribly different and it was fairly expensive.  Despite the fact that me and my husband find it a little boring and we already know that the actual riding on Thomas is lame, this is an activity that is truly just for the kids and they can't remember the previous visits, especially our train obsessed little boy!!

Waiting in line to board the coaches... Ben said we were on Annie

So, because I love my children and spoil them rotten, I was able to convince my husband to purchase tickets for Day Out With Thomas.  When we went 3 summers ago, we got the tickets to ride on Thomas.  My daughter was 2.5 and loved it!  Last year, she wasn't as into trains and our son was only 1.5 so we paid to enter the railway museum but not actually ride on Thomas.  We got away with it probably because our son wasn't vocal enough to say "Hey mom, why are you depriving me of this awesome experience?"  This is probably our last summer in Illinois, and our last summer seeing Thomas up close.  So hey...what's another $80 to feed into my son's obsession? 

You know what?  That money was TOTALLY worth it!! He was awestruck!! Seriously, the kid barely made a peep the entire time! He didn't talk full sentences until we got back to the car!

 

Ok... Maybe my husband wasn't fired after all!