The Oldest

I hope I can always catch my girl looking this happy.  

And I hope that even when she's grown, I can still sometimes be the reason why.

She Wants to Have Her Cake and Eat it Too

We went to dinner the other night and it happened to be a friend's birthday.  Of course, we delight on public embarrassment so everyone sang to her.  Our girls joined in with gusto.  When it was over, Caly looked at me and said "Where's da cake?  I need some cake."
 ________________________________________________

We're about to leave the restaurant and Caly's trying to get my attention.

"Mama. Mama.  MAMA. MAMA!"

"Yes there kiddo?"

"I need some cake."
_________________________________________________

On the way home, Caly is sadly weeping and crying because she wants me to hold her.

"Hold you, Mama! Hooooold yoooou!"

"I promise I will snuggle you all up when we get home and you can get out of your car seat."

"Maaaaammmmaaaaa.... HOoooooOOOOooooLLLD YOOU!"

"Caly. When we stop, I'll snuggle you, I promise.  OK?"

"Oook Mama..."

We drove in silence for awhile and I glanced back, fairly certain that she had finally dropped off to sleep.  Sayer was conked and Lex had followed shortly after.  I peered into the darkness and say a flicker of movement.  Caly blinked her big green eyes at me a few times, grinned, and said,

"Mama?  I need some cake.  I have some cake?"

Girl's got a one track mind.

And come to think of it...  I think I need some cake.

Winner!

The winner of the $20 Giant giftcard is Genelle!

Thanks for entering everyone!  Stay tuned for another good one sometime next week :)

Everything She Knows About Super Heroes, She Didn't Learn From TV

Bean is a ridiculous story teller.  I think she does it to make sure I don't zone out when she's chattering away about whatever fantastical storyline she's concocted. 

Yesterday, it was this gem.

"Mom, you know what?  I'm Princess Lee-ah [Princess Leah from Star Wars, but she likes her own pronounciation], and I'm here fighting the bad men.  They're all going to get karate chopped."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!  And Mom!  I'm here with Batman!  He's a good guy.   He's helping me fight the bad men too.  We live in a big castle with a bad king.  He keeps getting people dead by putting them in the volcano." 

"Erm, what?"

"The volcano, Mom.  You know, where the bad men go when they get deaded.  Oh!  And Dark Maul is a bad guy!"

"And he goes in the volcano?"

"Yeah!  They live there.  HIYA!  HIYAAAAA!  Mama, I got them!"  (This was accompanied by erratic chopping motions towards our very threatening arm chair)

"Nice work, Princess Lee-ah."

"Thanks Mom, but now I'm Sleeping Beauty.  I need to go be Princess to the Rescue."  And with that, she trotted off to play in her closet, presumably where Batman would make an appearance.

Linky Link Link Links

Shaun makes fun of me because I generally have about 30 tabs open in my browser at any given time.  But I can't help it!  I find something that's interesting or something I want to share so I won't close it.  The problem is, I never do anything, I end up with 542 tabs, my browser crashes, I lose it all and then I'm totally cranky. 

So, here I am.  With a hodgepodge of links that might or might not interest you...  but I liked 'em!

Young Me, Old Me - This is a fascinating comparative photo site.  Some of them are stinkin' hilarious.  So tempted to do this with some of my childhood photos. 

Subway Distribution - What could you do with a bag full of subs and a heart for others?  Check it out.  (via @armonroe)

Waterbaby - Isn't this an absolutely amazing shot?  Makes me think that babies are actually at home in the water, after all.  (Even when they shriek when the water gets in their eyes in the bathtub). 

Sensory Tray and Sandpaper Letters - I want these SO BADLY.  I think my kids would have as much fun with these as any toys we have. 

Win an HTC Evo 4G Phone - No sponsorship, I just think it was a fun contest to get the chance to win.

Gilt - Dude, Skip Hop diaper bags, Fancy Nancy stuff, Sigg bottles, etc.  Super cheap!  (And truly a reputable site).   Sign up through that link. 

So there you go...  my browser is a few tabs lighter.  And hopefully, you've found something worth reading. 

Happy Earth Day! Want 20 Bucks to Go Grocery Shopping?

Until April 29th, if you buy 5 participating General Mills items and use a re-usable shopping bag, you'll be automatically entered to win a 2010 Hybrid Car.  

Dude, that's a piece of cake.  And who wouldn't love a new car?  

 

But I'm going to make it easier...  Leave a comment below for your chance to win a $20 gift card* to Giant (or other participating stores such as Stop & Shop, Giant, Super G, Giant Food Stores, and Martin's Food Markets) gift card!  

 

Bonus entries for tweeting the giveaway,  (I'm @monsterchew on twitter)  or for blogging about it.  Also, you can head to General Mills and tell me your favorite item.  And if you're really keen to win?  Head to Flexible Dreams and enter her giveaway for the same item for double the chances to win!  (Then come back and comment that you did so to get entered again here).  Please comment again for each additional entry. 

 

So, head on to Giant and buy 5 General Mills items from the list below and bring your reusable bag and you'll have a chance to win a 2010 Hybrid. 

 Participating Brands Include:

Cascadian Farms Cereal
Green Giant Vegetables
Nature Valley Crunchy or Sweet & Salty Granola Bars
Green Giant Boxed Vegetables or Prepared Vegetables, Simple Steam Seasoned Vegetables or Rices
Green Giant Wanchai Ferry Entrees
Yoplait Frozen Smoothies
Totino's Pizza Rolls
Pillsbury Savorings
Fiber One Muffins
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Pillsbury Sweet Rolls
Yoplait Greek Style Yogurt
Yoplait Kid Multi Pack
Cheerios 14 Oz
Cocoa Puffs 16.5 Oz
Honey Nut Cheerios 17 Oz
Lucky Charms 16 oz
Multigrain Cheerios 12.8 Oz
Reeses Peanut Butter Puffs 18 Oz

Make sure to leave your comment(s) and I will choose a winner on Saturday, April  24th at 10pm.

*The gift card is a promotional item being given out by Giant and MyBlogSpark.

You can also enter without making a purchase by completing an official entry form at your local Stop & Shop store.
 
This promotion is open to residents of MA, RI, CT, NH, NJ, NY, MD, DE, VA or DC and individuals at least 18 years old. For details about the sweepstakes, see in-store for complete rules.

Chompers

 
Let's just say that I'm going to be owed a medal when this kid is done nursing. 

(He's lucky he's so stinkin' cute).

The Crafty Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

I forgot to mention, as I was skittering around tying baby toys and bows to a cake made of diapers, my oldest was fluttering nearby asking perpetual questions.

"What are you doing, Mommy?  What is that?  Why are you tying that?  Can I have that cup?  How many diapers are on there?  Why is it called a cake?  You can't eat it!  Why are you putting bows on there?  Can I wear the bows?  Is this for Aunt Shell's baby?  Where is she?  Can I help?  Can I help? Mommy, can I help now?  Can I make one?"

I would have let her help, I truly would have.  But I had 15 minutes to get things together and get out the door.  So instead, I handed her a pile of diapers, some ribbon, and some various extra items and let her have a go at making her own.

With a minimal amount of help, she assembled this,

This Mama is totally proud. 

The Girl is Crafty Like Ice is Cold!

I'm a little manic when it comes to crafty things.  I get a notion to start on some sort of creative endeavor and throw myself headlong into it with little regard to anything else. 

Like, cleaning my house. 

Or feeding my kids.

(Kidding.  Er, sort of). 

Anyway, this past weekend, we threw a surprise shower for Michelle, my lovely sister-in-law, and I got one of those notions.  I was searching for cupcake decorating ideas and came across a picture of a diaper cake.

"Dude," I said to myself... "Dude!  I CAN MAKE THAT!"

And so, off to the store I flew, gathering supplies and giggling through ribbon samples.  (I get a little looney when struck with an idea... surprise anyone?)

Anyway, I came home an hour later and within 15 minutes, with the invaluable help of Robin, I had assembled this:

It's not perfect, but I'll be darned if it's not freakin' festive.

I'm thinking of posting some steps if anyone's interested?

In any case, life can resume now that I got that out of my system.

A Comedy of Errors

The other night, we visited Shaun at a local camp where he was running a retreat.  After a very, very long drive to the camp, we got the girls a slice of pizza and then Shaun deposited us at the dorms. 

Without a room key.

Thankfully, we found a television that continually showed Sprout, so the little natives were quiet for about 11 seconds.

One of the college kids dropped by, brought us a key, and helped me load our stuff into the room.  I stared at the king size bed for a second.  Then I stared at our three children.  Then I mentally added Shaun to the mix.  5 people, 3 of them very small, but very wiggly, and 1 bed. 

Hmm.

Five minutes later, I managed to haul two renegade mattresses into the room, complete with bedding, and I positioned them strategically next to the bed. 

It only took forever, but I wrestled three kids into pj's, found the necessary blankets, and tucked the girls in.

8:30pm.  Not bad!

I settled down to nurse Sayer and a tiny voice piped up.

"Mama?  MAMA!?  I don't wanna seep on da floor.  I no like it.  I can come see you?"

So up C came.  I figured we'd move her back down at some point after she settled to sleep. 

Thirty seconds later,

"Mama?  Mama?  Can I please come up too?  I'm a little scared all by myself down here."

So Bean came up as well. 

Two little girls, a mama, and a nursing babe all in a row on a giant bed.  Bean fell asleep relatively quickly, but was getting over a cold, so she hacked and coughed and thrashed.  Every single time she coughed, C asked, "Lessi?  Whatcho doing?"

At one point, Bean's arm flopped onto a drowsy and finally quieting C. 

Which happened to be right as I was lowering a sleeping Sayer into his bed.

"NO LESSI!  NO TOUCHING ME!  AHHHHH!  NO NO NO!"

Sayer woke up. 

Bean thrashed back to  her own side of the bed. 

C was unsatisfied by the lack of reactions in the room and continued on...

"NO touching me.  NO."  *pause*  "Mama?  Whatcho doing?  What's Lessi doing?  I touch her!"

"NO!  C, do NOT touch your sister!  She's sleeping!  Close your eyes!  Do you need to go on your bed?"

She screwed her eyes shut and shook her head.  The room was quiet for about 43 seconds.


"Mama?  Whatcho doing?  Whatcho doing Sayer?  Mama?  I touch Sayer.  I pat him.  TICKLE TICKLE!"


"C!  NO tickling your brother!  He's back to sleep!  Close your eyes."


"OK Mama."  *pause*  "Mama?  Whatcho doing?"

"Nothing baby girl.  Close. Your. Eyes."

"OK"  *pause*  "Mama?  Mama?  MAMA!?"

"What, C?!"

"Whatcho doing?"


Ad nausem.  Until 10:30.  If I ever go back to school, she's the girl who's pulling my all nighters. 


And now that I'm back, I'd love to know...  whatcho doing? 

I'm Still Alive and Kicking

I promise. 

I'll be back to blogging tonight or tomorrow. 

I have a million things to blog about!

And pictures!  Spring seems to have a plethora of picture taking opportunities, no?

But for now, I'm spring cleaning to get rid of clutter, regular cleaning to catch up from the time o' germs, and planning for both preschool and my 9th graders. 

Back soon!  (Don't give up on me :)

Get in MAH BELLEH!

Bean was wearing a shirt the other day that had about 12 cupcakes on it. Robin pretended to eat one and said, "Mmmmm, tastes like cupcakes!" Bean looked down and replied, "No, they taste like shirt!"

Did I mention she doesn't pronounce 'r's?

Heh, yes, it sounded exactly like what you think it sounded like.

(Which reminds me of when she was about 15 months old and started saying her name... The 'L' became an 'S'. "I Sexy!" Yeah, that TOTALLY got some looks when we were in public)*

Yesterday we went to my Grandmom's for Easter lunch. Of course, getting any kid to actually eat lunch when there's more candy than they've ever seen in their life is a bit tricky. We finally wrangled C into a seat and she asked for a hard boiled egg.

My Dad peeled it and sprinkled a smidgen of salt. She turned up her nose, shook her head, and said, "It's a leetle spicy!" Dad finally convinced her that salt wasn't spicy and she took a bite. One bite. Then said, "I all done! I have a treat!"

My dad told her she could have a treat if she ate her egg.

She sized up the egg, looked at my dad, back to the egg... then picked it up, licked it, and put it down.
"I all done! Have a treat?"

Um, good try, but no.

Dad encouraged her, "It's good! Eat all of the egg! Put it in your belly!"

She picked up the egg. Then, as we all watched, she tucked the egg carefully under her shirt onto her belly, patted it into crumbles and proudly said, "Egg in my belly! I have a treat!!"

Creative, that one.

*I know that this pretty much says Bean's real name... I'm ok with that :)