Laundry Day

Was yesterday. And the day before, and the day before... I'm amazed by the number of socks we go through. We wear shoes here. It's a new sensation for all of us. I love having a washing machine in the house. We even have a dryer in the building if I need one. I've lived in student housing way too long if I think this is luxury!

Red Shoes

J got these beauties for Gigi on her birthday. She fell in and out of love with them in the matter of a week or so. I have a feeling they are a bit tight on her toes

Sorry J, no vegetarians here.

Jesse to the kids. "Hey guys, do you want to be vegetarians?"
M- "What does that mean?"
J-"It means we don't eat any meat."
G- "Ha-Ha! That's so funny!"

No hot summer days here.

photo by adam
Our M is learning to read and write. The other day she surprised me by asking me to help her write "hot summer days." After helping her sound out the words and write them in her little book she said, "You know why I wanted to write hot summer days? When it's really cold, I can look at my book and remember Hot Summer Days." Then she gave me the "isn't that the best idea ever?" look.

You have to realize that her bedroom has taken on meat locker frigidity. Jesse wears his down jacket when he reads to M at night. I tried to put G back in her bed last night. She woke up screaming "don't make me sleep here! I don't want to sleep in my bed! I want to sleep in your bed!" Who wouldn't feel that way after cuddling under a down filled blanket with the heater on. The kids' room only has an air conditioner and is naturally the coldest room in the house. There's the space heater option (expensive and dangerous), the electric blanket option (also expensive and dangerous since one of them has a wetting problem (could it be because it's freezing in their room?)), but we're going for the tough it out option and/or the just sleep in our room on a futon option. Only problem is that the kids snore.

Oh for those hot summer days!

Temper, temper

Ok, I can't believe I'm publishing the fact that I check out Dr. Phil online to my family and friends. Jesse says that now you'll know I'm white trash. Um. I'm from Roseburg. If you didn't know, you do now.

But I had to post a link to this article about stopping temper tantrums. Because it works! Quick overview: Toddler=caveman. Use short phrases. Use tons of repetition. Use a lot of emotion/enthusiasm. Exaggerate your expressions.

I find this method hardest in the morning. "You want frosted flakes! You WANT frosted flakes! YOU WANT FROSTED FLAKES!" It takes A LOT of energy to pull it off in the morning. But the rest of the day, it's kind of fun. I feel less stressed out by their tantrums because 1. I'm letting them know I hear them and 2. I feel that as I verbalize for them, I'm giving them ownership of their feelings and I'm not responsible for that. I've noticed the tantrums have gone down in frequency and duration in the past few weeks.

I'm still not sure about what to do when G says "Yeah. You hear me. So give me what I want!" But she can't have it. Suggestions?

Gifts

Christmas this year was full of gifts and giving. We bombarded the kids with dolls, ponies, doll house furniture, blocks, and art supplies. M decorated a dollar store box for Jesse. She pasted pictures of onsen and flowers and a picture of Jesse with her. We enjoyed the gift of time with family. The gift of cousins. Giving the kids so many gifts was especially fun because they didn't ask for any of them except the ponies. Until we opened presents Christmas morning, the whole focus had been on celebrating the birth of Christ and giving.

The gifts Jesse chose for me have been amazing. We thought my ipod died, so he got me a nano (the old one resurrected at the mac store. Go figure.) M listens to stories when we have long train rides. Sometimes G listens along, and sometimes she just enjoys our undivided attention. I listen to Wait..wait or Fresh Air while I'm laying down with G at night. I look forward to cuddling with her and no longer resent that she doesn't fall asleep by herself. And sometimes I do my chores while listening to music.

Which brings me to my second gift. A diving watch. After numerous sports watches, the last one pink with velcro ( i loved it, but the velcro had worn off and it looked less than chic at church.) Jesse and I found a watch on Amazon, silver link, feminine, and mom friendly. Which means I can clean the tub, give kids a bath, wash clothes and dishes and not worry about my watch band getting wet or the innards giving up. My happiest moment after Christmas was when we were watching our friends' kids. Their three boys and our two girls were wrecking havoc, and I stood over the sink listening to Johnny Cash REAL loud washing a HUGE sink full of dishes. And I couldn't help thinking how perfect Christmas was this year.

My lips love...

Megan's goal to wear makeup reminded me that I wanted to post about this lipstick Amy gave me last Christmas. I actually like it enough to get another color, even though it costs $20 ( I have the color pictured).

The selling point...it stays on forever. REALLY. I mean forever. As in I'm wiping off residue on my towel the next day. I don't reapply the lip gloss portion, just slap some carmex on when the lips get a little dry. I want to get another color that's not quite so bold, better for everyday. It's called MAC Pro Longwear, by the way.