On Halloween Night

When one Fairy meets

One Princess to go trick or treating,

There are two Trick or Treaters in the dark on Halloween night.

When two trick or treaters meet one tall Prince, there are three trick or treaters in the dark on Halloween night.

When three trick or treaters meet one Mummy, there are four trick or treaters with sugar rushes in the dark on Halloween night.

The girls came away with quite a haul of candy even though we only went to houses on our block. A good time was had by all.

Part Human, Part Fish

The itty bitty mini Volcano slide.

Addie has informed me that she is a mermaid. "I'm part human and part fish. I'm a mermaid." After spending several days in the Dells, I believe it! Adam and his parents took the girls down to Wisconsin Dells last Friday night. I joined them on Sunday after a fun scrapbooking weekend. When I got there the girls had spent a good part of every day at a waterpark with their cousins.

That didn't stop them from wanting more!

Addie near the Wave Pool

On Monday morning both girls woke up asking if they could go to the pool. We headed back over in the afternoon and the girls had a blast. They played on the mini slides, rode jet skis (pretend ones) that shot water out (Daddy makes the best target!!) and played in the wave pool.

The waterpark was huge. It had 4 big rooms, each with different themes and things to do. We didn't really go down any of the big slides, although Adam did take Addie down the (semi) Lazy River. Every so often we would have to let Lily dangle her toes in the family hot tub because her lips would start turning blue. The family hot tub is meant for children older than 6, but I figured just having Lily's feet in the water wouldn't raise her temperature too high.

Lily's Cold Face - "I Cold. Brrr...."

Everyone had a great time, but it's nice to be home.

Bad Momma, No Pictures

I am a bad Momma. I'm sure some day my children will be in therapy because of it. However, hopefully they will go to a therapist who is a mother herself. That therapist will say something to the effect of, "But aren't there some nice things your mother did for you?" My children will then tell about the time that their mother hosted a Halloween costume party for 9 children, 5 moms and 1 dad (2 dads if you count the dad that showed up late).

Even though there is no photographic evidence, we had a wild time last night at our house. All the usual suspects were there, Elmo (2 of them!), Snuffleufagus, Spiderman, The Little Mermaid (2 of them!), Snow White, and Mariposa were all there. There was also a cow that was missing her costume. The kids, as usual, all played great together. It was that happy fun chaos where the moms all chip in to watch everyone else's kids at the same time that they are catching up with each other's lives.

The only part I regret is that I didn't get a group photo that would someday be in the graduation slideshow.

You Know You're Tired When...

As an adult, there are days when I would give almost anything to nap. I feel like I live for my coffee in the morning. But when you're little it seems like you'll do anything to fight off sleep. Addie plays harder than ever when she's tired. She'll start running around, spinning circles and basically get all crazy. Lily on the other hand will lay down but will thrash and twist and turn trying to find the right spot. Then, her fingers find their way up to her eyes where she'll press on her eyes or pull the lids down. Anything to keep from falling asleep. Each girl has to have their special thing to snuggle with. Lily needs her "Ellfant" and "bott" while Addie needs Strawberry Shortcake (and sometimes her new Curious George puppy.) If they don't have their particular routine, bedtime is difficult.

When sleep comes, it comes hard and fast to these two.

How tired do you have to be to sleep with your head bent like that?

Into the Woods

We had a busy day on Sunday. We started off going to the Homeplace to work on a tree stand for Dad. Addie and Lily were interested in everything in the woods, including something I suspected at the time was poison ivy. When your child picks up a leaf and immediately says, "my fingers are itchy," you really start to get paranoid! The girls had a great time looking around in the woods though.

After the Homeplace, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Nelson's house for lunch. My Grandma is a fantastic cook and she out did herself on this one. Two of my great-aunts were also there, one was visiting from Colorado so it was great to see her. The girls were very entertaining, Addie told Louise and Dony all about school.

After lunch we headed to the spot where Adam always hunts to drop off apples for the deer. Despite it being after nap time and both girls being exhausted, they had to walk with us to check out the stands.

Lily insisted on climbing over that log all by herself! She told me, "I a big girl, I do it myself."

Four Little Goblins

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, four little goblins went walking at the zoo. See The Kazel Imagination for more photos and a far better description. :)

Three of the goblins had treat bags. The littlest goblin was too little. She got to share with her Mommy and Superman.

Along the way the goblins got to see otters, tigers and polar bears - Oh My! The polar bear even put on a show for the goblins. He dove and waved and generally had a great time showing off for the kids.

This little goblin kept up with the big kids, occasionally catching a ride with Mommy. She loved going to each booth and saying in her tiniest voice, "Twick or Tweat," and "Tank You."

The highlight for the Goblin's Mommies was the Caribou Coffee booth. They were giving away free cups of coffee and for the Trick or Treaters, Caribou Coffee breakfast bars. This Mommy questions the intelligence of a company that gives Mocha flavored breakfast bars to preschoolers, but they were confiscated and redirected to the Mommy portion of the pantry. The caribou was a huge hit with my goblins... they each had to wave to the caribou and then give it a big hug.

Have you ever seen such a cute little cow?

Buh-Bye animals! We'll see you next time!

For Hire

I'm just going to say it, because really, I'm not shy. My kids would make great flower girls. If anyone would like to use the girls in their wedding, they would be available. Addie even has prior experience as a flower girl. She was a flower girl at age 2, in someones wedding that we barely knew! Addie is not shy and will follow anyone down the aisle. Lily will follow her sister almost anywhere so she's a pretty good bet as well.

How could you not want that face in your wedding photos?

The girls have even been practicing their dancing skills. They slow dance with Daddy (sometimes Momma, but only if Daddy is busy) and they can fast dance with the best of them. Honestly, you haven't seen dancing until you see Lily shaking her boot-tay. It's hysterical.

Addie and Lily go Ga-Ga over weddings. This weekend Adam and I put in the tape of our wedding; the girls were amazed that Momma was a BRIDE! There is something magical about the white dress and veil and little girls are certainly not immune to it. Every little girl dreams of being in a wedding. I know as you get older and all your friends are getting married that you get a little tired of going to all the weddings of your freshman roommate's sisters. However, think about the kids, think about your family that want to see you on this happy occasion.

Since 2 of our close relatives (each godparents of one of the girls) have eloped fairly recently, the girls haven't had a chance to be in a wedding. With this last one we're not even sure if they'll be having a reception to celebrate later. I know that this person has a niece and a nephew who could have been in the wedding but weren't also; but Lily is your Godchild, shouldn't that mean something?

Let us share in the joy of your wedding. And for God's sake, let my kids be part of it. :)

Where Aliens Go

Our conversation at dinner tonight went something like this.

"Momma, where do aliens live?"

"Outer Space. Lily, eat your meat"

"Momma, where aliens go when they're out ter? Why don't they stay here?"

"Good question."

SUPERSTAR!

"Momma, I want to be a Rock Star. And a teacher, a mouse detective, ballerina, and a Barbie!"
And she's going to bring her Pokey Little Puppy with her all the time. Somehow, I think Addie just might do it.

School is going really well so far. We solved the breakfast dillemna. Addie wasn't hungry in the morning before going to school and food is not allowed on the school bus. I emailed her teacher and we decided to have Addie get breakfast at school every morning. The school district provides a (mostly) hot breakfast every morning free. Addie loves everything they've served so far, I think she really likes picking out what she gets to eat from the line. So far the other big hits of being in 4 Year Old Kindergarten seem to be that there are numbers on the wall and that they sometimes get to play Freeze Dance.

Darla & Co.

We had a great time with Darla and Thomas at the cabin this last weekend. It was good to get away and just have time to hang out. In fact, Grandma and Grandpa even took the girls so that I could theoretically sleep in for my birthday! The weather was crummy but the kids didn't seem to mind.

As usual, the cake and the present wrapping/unwrapping were the biggest hits with the girls. The girls around presents makes sharks in a feeding frenzy look calm and in control. In fact, at one point, the wrapping paper was flying so fast that I thought Adam had given yarn to Darla for her birthday. Um, no. That was to me from Darla. :) That makes a lot more sense!

The only downside to the weekend was that I got sick. There's something nasty going around. I've been running a fever for 5 days and have a cough that just won't quit and a tight chest. It's miserable being sick when you're supposed to be having fun. Last night Lily snuggled up in my lap and said, "you sick Momma?" Yes, honey, I'm sick. A couple of minutes later she said, "You still sick Momma?" Yes, I'm still sick. "Daddy fix you. Daddy is de best Daddy in the whole world and he can fix anyting. Daddy fix you so you no sick." What a sweetie she is!

Four Year Old Kindergarten Here We Come!

This week was the start of 4K (4 year old kindergarten) for Addie. 4K is a Wisconsin preschool program. One of the most exciting parts for Addie is that because she is attending one of the public schools, she gets to ride the bus. It was traumatic for Momma and Daddy but very exciting for Addie. She kept saying, "I'm so excited!" Unfortunately we didn't think much about the camera the night before other than to say that we needed to take some pictures of her that morning. In a series of small disasters, none of our cameras was working that day. Instead, Adam had to take the pictures with his cell phone.

Lily was upset that Addie got to go to school but she didn't. Of course, Lily was also upset that Momma went to work right away in the morning instead of snuggling. Then, Lily was upset because she accidentally got hit in the head with a camera. It was a rough day to be Lily!!

Then it was a mad dash for the bus! (This photo brings back traumatic childhood memories of running for the bus)

There she is, off to her first day of 4 Year Old Kindergarten! She gets to ride a big yellow bus with just the 4 year olds. They have 5 point harnesses for each kid which makes me feel a lot better about the whole thing. I'm a little worried because we don't have the communication with the teacher that I am used to getting from daycare, but Addie is all smiles when she comes home. It sounds like they have a great routine at school and Addie is enjoying herself. The very first day she told me her teacher let her dance. I asked if the other kids danced. "No." I asked if the other kids were singing songs when she did this. "No. They just listen to the songs." Hmmm... was she dancing during quiet time? How did that all come about?

The only problem we're having is that Addie refuses to eat breakfast first thing in the morning. I get her up and get her dressed, but she needs to be at the corner waiting for the bus by 7:50. We tried sending food for her to eat on the bus, but the bus driver doesn't allow it. The big kids eat breakfast at school, but the 4 yr old program starts later so they don't eat breakfast there. By the time snack time rolls around, Addie is starved. I'm not sure what to do!

Lily is having the hardest time with all the changes. Between Addie going to school and Momma working full time, she's feeling left out. It's been a rough series of mornings around our house. I'm confident she'll get used to it, but I feel bad.

Random Sunday

Tip: Oxi Clean and lots of elbow grease gets crayon off of wallpaper.

The Story: I was trying to impress upon my children the importance of Mommy being able to have a little privacy at some point in the day. After having slept in Lily's room for most of the night, then spending parts of the wee hours in Addie's room, I was pretty wiped out. I just needed to use the bathroom alone, without an audience. Both children took offense at this and proceded to throw temper tantrums. Addie got put in a time out in her room over this one as she was screaming red-faced and shaking her finger at me. Sorry kiddo, we don't talk to Momma that way. Somehow I managed to move Lily outside the room and have 3 seconds to myself. In that amount of time Lily took a red crayon and was creating a masterpiece on the wall in the hallway. Addie of course ratted her out and I was able to get there before it became an entire mural. Each child and I got a damp washcloth and started scrubbing the crayon off. No pictures, I was too annoyed to think of getting the camera. The Oxi Clean really saved the day... it made clean up a little bit easier. It still took a lot of elbow grease, but at least I wasn't smearing the crayon around once I used it.

********

I just discovered Living Crafts magazine at our Whole Foods Co-op. This issue is all about wool. There's some knitting but there's also wool felting (which anyone can do right off the bat - without special tools) and some neat projects with felt. I might try to make some felt crowns for Christmas for all the kids. Hand sewing is not my specialty, but these are so cute they are very tempting. It looks like everything in the magazine can be made by beginners or children of varying ages. In the issue I have, there are felted hedgehogs and a felted pumpkin that would be easy for the girls to help me with.

Happy Birthday Addie!

We did the traditional birthday extravaganza again this year. I didn't actually do a head count, but we had somewhere close to 30 people come. It was a lot of fun for all of us. We ate (a lot) of corn on the cob, brats, hot dogs, fresh veggies straight from a local farm and my mom's garden, deviled eggs, chips and DF dip, fresh fruit salsa and of course, cake. My Mom came up and helped the day before the party so everything was done early and done smoothly. The kids played outside, picking apples and chasing each other around. I love summer birthdays because I don't have to do anything structured to keep people entertained. The parents hung out outside with the kids and the grandparents or older friends stayed inside where it was quieter. We even had fantastic weather this year - perfect 70's temps and sunny after a cold wet morning.

We went with a Barbie cake this year (instead of the almost identical Princess Cake that was last year's treat). Next year I'm hoping we can break the doll cycle. :) Maybe I can convince Lily to do a Strawberry Shortcake birthday or something like that. Addie loved it though - she thought the Barbie was beautiful!

Make a wish sweetie! I hope all your dreams come true - or at least most of them!

And yes, our friend AJ did eat 3 pieces of cake again this time around. That kid likes his cake! :) Although I have to say he wasn't as enthralled with the Barbie cake as he was with the bunny cake. He's such a cute kid - he had his first 2 pieces scarfed down so fast his mom didn't realize he was onto the 3rd until I gave her the heads up. Better watch out for him Dana, he's quick!

In case anyone cares, Kool-Aid Jammers are disgusting. I caved tonight when the girls were asking for juice boxes in the grocery store. Since the Jammers were on sale (the ones with only 2 g of sugar) I decided they wouldn't be too bad. Yuck. They have a very plasticy taste to them. I really don't know that the kids will even drink them.

Finding Nemo

I promise that I will blog more about Addie's birthday and her party. It was a great time and I think everyone went home full and happy. We had hot dogs and brats, fresh veggies and dip made with Tofutti sour cream, corn on the cob, deviled eggs, potato salad, chips, and fruit salad. And cake. Lots of Barbie cake. As usual it was all Dairy Free. For now, if you want to hear more about it, you'll have to go to Dana's blog.

In a surprise move, Nemo (also called "Memo" by the younger members of the family) has come to live at our house. He is a beautiful red Beta. Some readers may remember that Nemo (of Finding Nemo fame) was trying to escape captivity. However, he seems to have landed in a nice little fish vase at our house. A little jealousy errupted over the ownership of Nemo (I said he belonged to no one but himself, Addie said he was her birthday present and Lily seemed to think that he should belong to her. After all, Addie got all these other cool presents, shouldn't Lily get something?) So Adam played peacekeeper and decided that we would take a family trip to the Wal of Mart. We found a nice little female fish to keep Nemo company. In keeping with the Finding Nemo theme, she was named Dory. Dory is a blue short finned Beta. However, because Beta's tend to be loners and because we don't really want little Dory's and Nemo's floating around, they are in separate vases.

Any bets on how long the fish will survive?

My Mommy Friends Are the Best

We met a bunch of friends at a new park on Wednesday night and had a blast! There were 8 kids, 5 mom and 1 dad (yeah Adam!). These are mostly friends that Addie and Lily used to go to daycare with so they all get along wonderfully. The kids slip back into playing together like they just saw each other yesterday. This play structure is geared for kids of all ages, with 3 levels you can go up.
The climbing walls were a huge hit, especially with the boys. This little guy just kept going up the same wall, determined to get to the top all by himself. At the top, he'd turn and look at his mom to make sure she saw his accomplishment. I was pretty impressed!

Addie is being chased by a dinosaur, can you tell? The girls had a blast running around the structure, swinging on the swings and going down the slide. I heard a lot of, "Addie's Mom, there's a dinosaur coming!"

When someone asked me if I was worried that Lily was playing on the first rung of this ladder, I said no way. She can never climb up that thing, she's too little. She's barely 24 lbs and she's still in 18 month clothes, she's too little for that. Well she showed me! She climbed all the way up! Over and over and over! At the top where the ladder starts to flatten out, Lily would be saying, "I not scared. I not scared. I a liddle bit scared." It was so cute to see the look of determination on her face. She *has* to keep up with the big kids. Nothing will stop her from going down the scariest slide or doing anything that the big kids do.

Addie shows off her climbing skills. Addie on the other hand, likes a spotter whenever she does something for the first time. She wants to see her friends do it first and wants to know that there is a Momma at the bottom to catch her.

It's great to watch the kids play and fun to catch up with the moms. Next time - pool party for the moms at our house. We'll fill up the kiddie pool, stick our feet in and drink Margaritas. Just name the time ladies. :)

Pete and Repeat

Pete and Repeat walked into a bar.
Pete said, "Freeze Bobos."
Repeat says, "Freeze Bobos."

I am living in a Pete and Repeat joke. It just never ends. Even Addie says, "Momma, why Lily always say what I say?"

Tonight at dinner Addie tooted. Sure enough, 2 seconds later Lily toots. I swear I'm living with 12 year old boys.

Let My People Free

I hope she doesn't get used to being behind bars.

I just read this post on Go Dairy Free and I'm a little freaked out by it. I could feel my heart rate going up as I read it. Basically it says that there has been a rise in Milk Allergies in children since farmers began treating their cows with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH). Other countries have banned the hormone, but the US has not.

I have heard of children who are allergic to milk having no problem with raw milk from organic farmers who do not administer rBGH to their cows. I've always been scared to even try it. I have an appointment with a naturopath on Thursday and I'm going to chat with her about it. She's by far the most knowledgeable in our community about allergies. She's the one who originally helped me narrow down Lily's allergy to either milk or wheat.

Kickin' It Old School

Adam took the girls to a new park this weekend. It's a skate park that also has some playground equipment. There was the standard new climbing structure, but the hit of the day was the old school metal slide. The girls quickly found out how much faster you go on a metal slide!

Lily was a little scared (smart girl!) so she asked Daddy to catch her at the bottom.

Addie on the other hand liked going fast! She went down so fast that she would have to run once she hit the sand, just so her feet could keep up with the momentum from the top half of her body. I guess this slide is an oldie but goodie.

*it wasn't a very hot day - sunny but not super hot - so the girls didn't learn that dresses on a hot metal slide = burns in places I'd rather not think about!!

One For Auntie

I know how Auntie 'Rene likes her little kids with their pants pulled up to their armpits....

This one's for you!


But wait.... there's more....


Lily actually did that to herself. I had nothing to do with it. She insisted on getting herself dressed without Mommy's help. She then insisted on pulling her pants aaallllll the way up. You can tell from that first photo, she's pretty proud of herself.

"D"-Licious!

Our friend D loaned us an ice cream maker this summer. We've been putting it to work - making great sorbets that Lily can eat. The first thing I made was chocolate sorbet and it was a huge hit. We brought it to a birthday party so Lily and 2 vegan friends would have some ice cream to go with their cake. Mmmm... it was good - very rich. I found the recipe here.


This time I blended up some strawberries and made Strawberry Sorbet. Lily ate all of her bowl and asked for more! You don't need an ice cream maker to make sorbet, my grandma used to make it for me by just stirring the sorbet every 1/2 hour or so until it was all frozen. This breaks up the ice crystals so it is lighter and fluffier instead of being a solid block of ice (like a huge strawberry Popsicle).

Thanks D! This spoon's for you! I'm looking forward to making a few more types of dairy-free ice cream this summer. Now that it's getting hot, I'm going to branch out and make a custard type ice cream with eggs and soy milk. I'm sure I'll post reviews and recipes here.