Garage Sale Steals

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

I took the girls out Saturday morning to get them out of the house while I let Rich sleep in (don't worry- he let me sleep in Sunday!) and we went to a garage sale.

I found a second "guy-guy" for Cara.

He is brand newish so he is soft and cuddly- so it will take Cara some time to get used to him. "guy- guy" is the name for her soft little lovie, with a bear head attached to a small blanket and then a lion printed in the corner. Seriously- she could have picked something better than that... but she must have known it was from her 2nd cousin Cecily (and my aunt Susan!)

Ryann also found something she couldn't live without.... yes, scroll down and see the ridiculous pumpkin costume for a baby that she put on and wouldn't take off.

Obviously we had to leave with it since she wouldn't take it off.

It is hard to be firm with a 4 year old who is wearing a cute little pumpkin costume.

So yes, she took it home.

Goose Egg

Little Cara Kay ran into a wall the other day. Yes, a wall. I think it jumped out of nowhere and ran smack into her.

Either way she and Ryann had some fun in the bath- but you can tell she wasn't feeling 100%

Check out my FLO on the faucet.

Serious Issues

My computer is having serious issues- it makes this funky noise and only a black screen appears when we turn it on... I guess I should expect multiple computer crashes for a PC that is 3 years old- right?

Crossing my fingers it miraculously restarts itself today.

Don't worry- we have an external hard drive that backs up EVERYTHING on our computer. So we didn't lose anything- just the ability to blog daily and play farmville on facebook.

Park Time!

I am not sure why Rich and I always live close to elementary schools. Okay, not ALWAYS, but the 2 places we have actually lived while married our almost 7 years have been within a stones throw of an elementary school.

It is pretty fun when the kids are old enough to play on the playground!

Cara loves it, even if we go late at night before bedtime.

And Ryann is just growing up and climbing all over the playground. Seriously? A rock wall is a little to fast for me!

The Fridge Raider

Ryann has learned how to pour her own milk, into a sippy cup. I am not sure if she is spilling or not because we never catch her doing it. If she is- then she cleans it up really well.

Since we haven't caught her- here is what we are guessing is happening.

There are just signs that she is doing it.

Like open cabinets.

Chairs next to the fridge and all over the kitchen.

Sippy cups half filled with water and half with milk.

More sippy cups in the fridge than we would ever use in a week.

These two sippy cups that are now in the sink were filled with milk and sitting back in the cabinets. We aren't quite sure how long- but at least an entire work day.

Oh- I forgot to mention the empty milk cartons.

I think I will never buy 1/2 gallons of milk again- even if they are on super sale.

The strangest thing is that she seems to be filling the cups half way with water before she puts in the milk. Maybe she watches me fill the cups with half juice and half water.

Then Cara won't drink the milk that her sister so kindly got for her- because instead of 2% or whole milk it is less than skim milk.

Scripture and Prayer

Ryann gave her first scripture and prayer in primary on Sunday.

We practiced before.

She practically ate the microphone.

I did wipe it off before I handed it to the next kid.

She was so happy after that, she got a silly band for doing such a good job.

Then she was picked to help with singing time.

She even did a little dance as the class was singing.

Did you notice her cute sweater dress from her auntie Erin?

Please don't look too close. She spilled pink gogurt and orange paint on it.

Seriously? Who does that?

Actually the real questions is- what kind of parents bring gogurt and orange paint to church?

I promise I have no idea where the orange paint came from.

Plethora of Potato Heads

In our house we have an over-abundance of toys.

What happened to the days where kids just played with boxes and rocks?

I do say that Ryann does get pretty creative with her Mr Potato Head and all of his accessories.

A Good Mom

Yesterday I came home and sat at the computer to work on some Laborlooks blog stuff and I turned on some music for the girls to dance to. I then snapped a quick picture of what our life looks like today.

I look at my home and realize I don't have all the time to sit with my girls and play and clean and cook and do all of those things that a "good mom" is supposed to do.

Fortunately I haven't taught my girls what the stereotype of a good mom is. I just know that they love me and I love them. Oh- and daddy too.

If you want to see the explanations of all the crap in the room- click on the picture to enlarge it. You should be able to see it all then.

I love this crazy, tragic,

Sometimes almost magic,

Awful, beautful life

-My theme song for the day- by Darryl Worley

Immersion Blender

My mommy loves me so much! Not only does she know that Kitchen gadgets are my favorite- but she knows that they are perfectly acceptable to give to me as a Christmas gift.

I can mash potatoes in like 3 seconds flat. Well, not exactly- but basically 3 seconds. It also came with some amazing attachments- which makes guacamole and salsa a snap to make.

I had to include this ridiculous picture of me- I took 6 trying to get one where I looked a little bit normal- but obviously I am just soooo excited for my blender that I look like a deer in headlights.

Maybe next time I will just have someone else take the picture instead of me trying to do a self portrait.

Get To Work

Yup... mommy the slave driver.

I made Cara unload and put away the silverware. She got animal crackers for doing it.

She looks at me like I am the meanest mom in the world.

Ryann was able to open her birthday present from Cousin Ethan and Cousin Addie after she put away the groceries.

THANKS for the cute present!

Butter Face

Why is there butter on my face you ask??

Oh- simple answer.

Side note- Cara does not like potatoes. She will sometimes eat french fries- but no potatoes for her. Weird. She does love bread.

And Ryann LOVES asparagus!

Bullseye

We love this game.

Can't you tell?

Thanks GraMingo

Pinata

This is a hard core pinata... A real Mexican Pinata- It was even Blancanieve- Or Snow White. It was Ryann's birthday gift from Miss Mary.

This was one tough pinata. It took hits from a little kids bat, a t-ball bat, and then a couple adults had to swing at it in order to break.

But once it broke---- party city!

Did I mention it was filled with Mexican candy too?

They all took home a pretty good haul

Presents

Thank you auntie Devyn and uncle Jason for the sweet unicorn house and all the awesome unicorns!

Here is Ryann waiting to open her present while I went to get the camera. Good thing it wasn't fragile!

Opening up all the unicorns.

And Cara running off with a lone unicorn yelling, "Ride the horsie!"

Can you see she is trying to ride it?

Singing Happy Birthday

Not much cuter than 25, 2-4 year olds singing Happy Birthday to my sweet birthday girl.

Happy Birthday Ryann.

You fill my day with fun and laughter and you are constantly learning and growing each day.

I love your sweet cheesy grin. I love when you ask to read books or to color.

This year I don't just want "quality time" I want Ryann time.

Which is way better than "quality time"

Cause when you are with Ryann you are having the best time ever.

Happy Birthday Ryann

What a fun and busy and crazy day. There were so many people squished into my house and for the first 20 minutes of the party Ryann was crying because she had to be woken up from her nap. Thankfully Grandma Mingo and Auntie Vicki were able to convince her to get out from underneath her bed.

Once she was out she was great and had a wonderful time!

Her cupcakes and cake was a wonderful success. It is almost all gone which is the best part!

Cara was impressed with the cake.

Ryann was okay being her normal, silly self.

And here is the cute little party favors that all the kids took home.

Progression of a Julius Cake

After you make your white cake and make a strawberry, whipped cream filling you make a delicious buttercream frosting with some blue food coloring.

Don't forget to save some plain white frosting... you will need it later.

Then you put a cute little red border around it.

And then use your pretty decorating skills and put together a Julius monkey face!

I am thinking about adding fondant polka dots- white, yellow, blue, and red. What do you think? I still have time before the party today.

I Too Busy

I asked Ryann and Cara to help me pick up their toys so we could get ready to eat dinner.

Ryann says, "I too busy mom."

2 seconds later I turn my head and this is what she is doing.

Seriously? Watching Kipper the dog?

Where does she learn that?

Paul Frank

I am thinking Ryann isn't the only one excited for this party!!!

Her party "theme" is Julius the Monkey. I am having way too much fun putting stuff together and finding ways to make her party fun and cute.

I can't wait to show all the pictures I am going to take from the actual party!

Now I am off to put a strawberry filling into her birthday cake.

Party Favors

I didn't really want to do a "goodie" bag this year for Ryann's birthday. We are having a pinata and I didn't want to give them more candy, but I still wanted to send the kids home with something.

So they are almost done... but I will show the final product when I blog about her party.

Trust me- they are going to be pretty dang cute.

Someone is Getting Excited!

The countdown has begun.

She colors in each day on her calendar... every day is one day closer to her BIRTHDAY!

She got a package in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa Grape and she is so excited to open it. I am making her wait until her birthday, or at least her birthday party.

Are you coming? You should.

2-4pm. Be there.

Ryann's House.

Juicy Suit

Cara got a juicy sweat suit from Auntie Devyn for Christmas. It has been a little too big for her, so I tried to get her to wear it yesterday. She sports it very well.

Sorry about the picture quality. This nugget was on the move an would NOT stay still for pictures.

Her little pants almost fall off her, but that doesn't slow her down!

SuperBowl

Really? Nope.

No SuperBowl watching at my house... well, for these little girls.

There was some watching going on for Rich.

At our house we prefer to sleep.

Have you noticed the ridiculous amount of sleeping pictures I have taken recently?

Yes, Ryann was asleep in my bed- with her hand sticking up like that.

Yes, Cara was sleeping with an apple. Do I need to direct you back to the post about letting my daughters make choices?

That is how I make myself feel better for giving in to their every demand.

Not every demand.

Today I wouldn't let Ryann fill up a super soaker with water and bring it to the dinner table.

There are sometimes when I do draw the line.

All About Choices

I don't know the right way to parent. I never claim that I do. I basically pick and choose my battles. After it is all said and done I look back at it and say, "Hey- it is all about choices." I guess after the fact I can look back and say that I am teaching my children how to make choices. I support the good ones, discourage the bad ones, and throw my hands up in the air for the choices that don't really make a difference.

These choices are what help our children learn who they are... right?

At least this is what I tell myself when Ryann chooses to wear a beanie and scarf to bed... and then when she decides to sleep in the pack-n-play instead of her bed, with a bowl of cheerios, superman blanket, and her baby doll that she now calls "Baby Jesus."

I think when Ryann gets up from her nap today I will encourage her to find a new name for her baby. Sure, it is kind of cute, because she makes me "swaddle" him... but I think it would be more appropriate for when we are in public- calling the baby Olivia or Jane or even Mary.

So totally different

I will admit my girls are a lot alike. Close sisters who look alike and like to play with the same things... I know finding the differences might be a stretch some days, but they are totally there.

My RyRy. My first born nugget. She has selective hearing. She only listens when it is convenient for her. Yes, I have had her hearing tested. She hears us talking just fine. When she gets upset she talks quieter. She tends to whisper a lot when she is sad. She doesn't make eye contact very much. Especially when there is a mirror around- because she ALWAYS wants to see herself in the mirror.

She plays well by herself and will entertain herself for hours. She is sneaky and quiet but she is usually not the girl who is up to no good. She doesn't do bad things on purpose. She knows who loves her and she loves them no matter what. She always obeys f

or Miss Mary, but not for Miss Mary's helpers. She LOVES ponies and puppies. If I can't get her to listen then I start to talk to the horse or the dog and she will respond.

Cara Kay thinks she is the center of the universe. She does not play well by herself, but is very particular in how you play with her. Basically she wants you to sit real close and watch her play and tell her how wonderful she is. She is my sugar addict. Ryann knows when to say no, Cara will eat and eat and eat candy and sweets until the end of time.

When Cara is upset she gets louder. She yells and screams and is not afraid to tell you NO and take a swipe at your face. She is never sneaky and it is very obvious when she is being naughty or doesn't want to do something. She is quick to say I love you and she is a mama's girl. Sometimes she will go to someone else, but when she realizes that means she is out of my arms, she is quickly climbing back to me.

She protests daycare almost daily, but the second she walks in the door she pulls out all the charm and wins her way into everyone's hearts. It is important to her that everyone loves her and wants her to be around.

My girls are totally different as seen in their crazy pictures... (ryann is looking in a mirror of course!) but that is just today.

Tomorrow they will be even more different still. They are their own selves and I will continue to support them and love them.

Let's see how similar they are to these personalities when they become teenagers.

haha

Weaning Off of Naps?

Ryann has been protesting naps lately.

I think she is not going to win that fight.

These pictures were taken around 5pm.

Oh- and she has been dressing herself lately. Quite entertaining to see what outfits she comes up with.

Martinelli's

It was one of those days...

Hehe. Just kidding. We are finally getting around to opening our birthday celebration Martinelli's sparkling cider.

Last night we ate some homemade chicken risotto and drank our sparkling cider and we let the girls run around crazy. For a few minutes they were silent. I was nervous, but Rich made ignore them. It was fun.

Now I need to go put 12 outfits back into Ryann's closet- because that is what she was doing when they were so quiet.

Scorpion Gulch

I thought my house was Scorpion Gulch... but I guess not. Someone else obviously took the name before I could snag it for my house.

After Scorpion Gulch I saw the ORIGINAL barbed wire fence. Serious stuff here- I would be more willing to climb through a barbed wire fence than this cactus one. Yikes.

Oh wait- I have climbed through barbed wire fences about 1.2 million times in order to walk across the field to get to the Frye's and the Taber's houses.

(old childhood friends and neighbors!)

But seriously- this one looks deadly.

I guess it had to be in order to keep all these horses in line.

These horses are awesome. I am thinking about taking Ryann on a horse ride next weekend for an early birthday present. Kids 2-6 ride with their parents so I would only have to "rent" one horse, and it is like $25 an hour... tempting... yes...

Anyone want to join us?

And the last picture... please do not be fooled. I did not drown in a well on my birthday.

Or else I would not be here to type this post.

And I am.

So I am safe.

Rest easy my friends.